South Carolina church shooter suspect got gun for birthday, uncle says

[kpete]

South Carolina church shooter suspect got gun for birthday, uncle says

The man suspected of fatally shooting nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, was given a gun by his father as a 21st birthday present in April, his uncle told Reuters on Thursday.

Law enforcement officers were at the home of Dylann Roof's mother on Thursday morning, the uncle, Carson Cowles, said in an interview.

The FBI has identified the gunman in the deadly shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina, church as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper said on its website.

Cowles said he recognized Roof in a photo released by police, and described him as quiet and soft-spoken. Roof's father gave him a .45-caliber pistol for his birthday this year, Cowles said. (Reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by James Dalgleish)

http://live.reuters.com/Event/US_Live_Blog?utm_source=twitter

[onehandle]

1. WMD trafficking. nt

[RandySF]

2. Nothing to see here

Just our Second Amendnent in action.

[linuxman]

6. What law would prevent this?

Seriously. Outside of a ban, what would prevent a person without felonies from possessing a pistol?

[RandySF]

7. A ban

[samsingh]

8. the thriving gun culture claims 9 more people

[Lizzie Poppet]

3. This MIGHT be a case in which universal background checks would have helped.

Of course, the shooter would have had to have a history of disqualifying mental health issues AND those records would have had to be available to the NICS database, but this might still be an example of a benefit of such checks.

[tblue]

4. Thanks Dad!

You gave your son the means to murder. What did you think he'd use it for?

[BlueJazz]

10. A 45 caliber at that. What the hell was he gonna shoot? Great White Sharks?

[nc4bo]

5. Wonder where he got his world views from?

He thought enough of those views to sport a number of interesting patches on his jacket in one of his facebook photos.

[malaise]

9. He reloaded five different times

and they didn't jump on his face - damn!!

[cwydro]

11. Somebody starts shooting -

most folks are going to hit the floor fast.

I'd like to think I'd be heroic, but I doubt it.