The white gunman, who shot dead nine parishioners at the Emanuel AME Church on Wednesday night, reportedly tried to kill himself after the shooting, however he survived, apparently because he had run out of bullets.
21-year-old Dylann Roof, who was caught hours after the shooting, has been charged with nine counts of murder and may face death penalty.
Dylann Roof was said to have attended the prayer meeting at the Emanuel AME Church for half an hour before opening fire at the church members.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the fact that the shooter attempted suicide during the church attack, was told by Kevin Singleton, who lost his mother in the shootings.
40-year-old Singleton who is a magazine publisher, said that Roof never intended to leave the church and had turned the gun on himself after killing nine people.
“He pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, but it went ‘click,'” because the chamber was empty, Kevin Singleton, the son of 59-year-old Myra Thompson told the LA Times.
He also said that Roof apparently planned to kill the church’s well-known minister, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney.
The shooting at the church is being called a hate crime.
Also, the police and the FBI are investigating the online postings, which were allegedly written by Roof himself.
According to media reports, a website was discovered Saturday which contained a hateful manifesto and also showed pictures showing Roof holding confederate flags.
Meanwhile, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church re-opened on Sunday and held its first services since June 17 shootings.
Thousands converged at the church to pay respects to the victims, flooding the church entrance with flowers and bouquets.
