New charges for Charleston shooting suspect: 3 counts of attempted murder

Dylann Roof appears via video before a judge in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, June 19, 2015.

“We presented three additional Attempted Murder charges to the grand jury and the Defendant was subsequently indicted for those charges”, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said in a statement.

Roof also was indicted on three counts of attempted murder for the victims who survived the massacre.

The man accused of killing nine church goers at a historically African American church last month, now faces three counts of attempted murder related to survivors, in addition to the other charges already brought against the accused gunman.

Nine worshipers died as a result of the violence, including the church’s pastor, South Carolina Sen.

Authorities say Roof spent an hour in an evening Bible study group at the church before opening fire.

Roof was arrested in North Carolina, without incident, the day after the shooting.

Investigations quickly found a web site that is believed to belong to Roof that included several photos of Roof posing with the Confederate flag and his firearm, as well as a white supremacist manifesto.

The news of the new charges comes as South Carolina state lawmakers move closer toward possibly removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds.

The bill must pass the state House of Representatives before it can be enacted.