Last content update and data verfication was on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 07:27:09 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Details
- Mass Shooting
- Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
- Municipality
- Charleston
- State
- South Carolina – SC
- Zip Code
- 29401
- Region
- South
- Division
- South Atlantic
- Incident Date
- June 17, 2015
- Venue Type
- Religious
- Killed
- 9
- Injured
- 1
Ranking Data
- Preventable Factors/Rankings
- Blatant Rankings - Points Doubled
- 3
- Preventable Rankings Score
- 18
- Preventable Status
- Somewhat Preventable
Preventable Factors
- Preventable Factor Details
Last content update and data verfication was on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 07:27:09 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Takeaway(s):
—The perpetrator and his friend openly discussed his target (University of Charleston) for perpetrating an incident, and his friends, and even his mother, took his gun away from him but then returned it to him.
—The perpetrator was allowed to legally purchase a gun due to an administrative error within the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
—There needs to be good guys with guns at every venue.
Incident Preventable Factor(s):
—Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed – Perpetrator(s) Was in Directed and Overt Incident Preparatory Mode and Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed – Perpetrator(s) Expressed Suicidal Ideation and/or Suicide by Police and/or Expressed Violent Intentions Privately and/or Publicly in Person and/or In Any Medium:
When a perpetrator drops a hint about his or her intentions or perhaps it can somehow be inferred from his or her statements it’s still nonetheless startling that it goes unreported, but when a friend is outright told that the perpetrator is going to “… hurt a bunch of people at the University of Charleston …” and he does nothing about (particularly when he knowns he has the firepower to accomplish it) it defines comprehension why he didn’t blow the whistle. If society is going to overcome incidents we need to get a whole lot better at overcoming our inability to raise the red flag when it needs to be hoisted. 1 2
—Unnecessarily Accessible Perpetrator(s) Weapon(s) – Weapon(s) Was Unnecessarily Accessible to the Perpetrator and Whatever System Failure – Whatever System Failure:
The most solemn duty of government is public safety. In this case a perpetrator was allowed to legally purchase a gun because an administrative error within the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This is totally unacceptable. Because “… an [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] examiner who conducted the background check on [the perpetrator] failed to follow a mandatory procedure when she did not contact the arresting agency.” the perpetrator was able to buy a gun after a three day waiting period, which he wasn’t allowed to legally purchase, and use it to kill and maim. 2 3
—Venue Lacked Armed Individuals/Personnel – Venue Lacked Armed Individuals (Civilians)/Personnel (Military/Police/Security):
The lack of good guys with guns at a venue rears its ugly head again. There needs to be good guys with guns at every venue.
Refer to Some Proposed Solutions — Federal Civilian Ground Marshal Program – Establish One which is fully described in the recently released book Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CP): Hotels, Movie Theaters, Nightclubs, School Buses, Shopping Malls, Ski/Ride Resorts, and Summer Camps.
Source(s):
1. None. Last Edited July 18, 2021. “Charleston Church Shooting”. Wikipedia. Retereived July 18, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting.
Editor’s Note:
When referencing Wikipedia we most often visit the websites of their references for verification and to learn more and possibly use more content than what they’ve cited, which was done in this case. However, they reported the source of interest as a “Permanent Dead Link” and we found that to be true. We did, however, find a YouTube video which was produced by the same source as follows:
2. Telegraph, The. June 20, 2015. “Dylann Roof’s Friend: ‘Church Wasn’t Primary Target'”. YouTube. Retereived July 18, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=148eVf-BEvM.
3. Nation. August 30, 2019. “Lawsuit by Family of Victims of South Carolina Church Shooting Reinstated to Look at Faulty Background Checks”. PBS News Hour. Retereived July 19, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/lawsuit-by-victims-of-the-south-carolina-church-shooting-reinstated-to-look-at-faulty-background-checks.
Fluidity
- Criminal Case Pending?
- Yes
- Civil Litigation Pending?
- Yes
- Trending
- ⯅
Administrative Information
- Credible Source Inquires?
- 3
- Are Credible Source Inquires Inline Endnotes?
- Yes
- Assessment Status?
- Pending
- Editorial Board Approval?
- Pending
Record Information
- Last Updated
- Lexar
- Record ID
- 27
- Private ID
- WB6M3Q2
- Date Recorded
- 2021-07-18 15:10:04
- Date Updated
- 2023-10-22 04:05:07
- Last Accessed
- Type Designation