Church Roof Research Paper

21 year old Dylann Roof opened fire one Wednesday night at historical Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Before opening fire, Roof spent an hour inside the church attending a prayer meeting with his soon to be victims. Witnesses say Roof stood up suddenly and said he was there to “shoot black people”, and that’s when he began to shoot. Other statements witnesses say Roof said were: “You’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country… I have to do what I have to do.” Eight people died at the scene. Two were taken to get medical treatment at the Medical University in S.C, but one died on the way. Roof fled the scene, setting off an overnight manhunt. Police caught him in Shelby, North Carolina, …show more content…
Roof had a website online, named “The Last Rhodesian”, that informed us of why he chose the historical church to target. On his website he posted photos of himself wearing a jacket with flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that a white minority ruled until it became independent in 1980 and its name was changed to Zimbabwe. He also included pictures with his pistol; taking aim with the gun, and posing in front of a sign that says, “Sacred burial site. Our African ancestors” as well as outside South Carolina’s Museum and Library of Confederate History; and Roof standing on and burning an American flag. Roof had been given some money from his family for his 21st birthday but they never knew what he used it for. Investigators traced back and determined that Dylann went to a Charleston gun store that month and bought a .45 Glock caliber handgun, the same gun Roof used at his attack on the church. The gun can hold 13 rounds, and witnesses say he reloaded his gun several times when he …show more content…
After searching, police found Roof carrying strips of suboxone, a powerful narcotic commonly used to treat opiate dependence. Suboxone has very risky side effects. It’s a medication that contains buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a synthetic opiate and naloxone is a drug that blocks feelings of euphoria. Suboxone has been reported in the past to lead to violent outbursts and aggressive acts of rage under its influence. Roof did not have a prescription for the drug, which is commonly sold illegally on the streets. The Suboxone episode got him banned from the Columbiana Centre mall for a year, but Roof nevertheless returned, prompting another arrest, and this time, a three-year ban from the mall. This mind altering drug is the same drug Dylann Roof was under the influence of when he attacked the church. This incident goes to show how drugs can affect the developmental minds of young adults and later cause terrible