How a Local Florist Helped to Catch Charleston Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof
How a Local Florist Helped to Catch Charleston Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof
2 minute read
Todd Frady, left, and Debbie Dills of Frady's Florist in Kings Mountain, N.C., pose for a photo after Dills called in the tip that ultimately led to the arrest of Dylann Storm Roof, on June 18, 2015Gabe Whisnant—AP
After a tragic night and a tense 14-hour search, alleged Charleston shooter Dylann Roof was taken into custody Thursday in Shelby, N.C., nearly 250 miles away from the city where police say he killed nine people during a prayer meeting.
But the 21-year-old was only apprehended thanks to a tip from local florist Debbie Dills, who spotted a car matching the description released by police as she drove to work on Thursday, CNN reports.
“I saw the pictures of him with the bowl cut,” Dills told the Shelby Star. “I said, ‘I’ve seen that car for some reason.’ I look over, and it’s got a South Carolina tag on it.”
She told the paper she was convinced the car was just a lookalike until she saw the driver’s haircut. That was when she called her boss, Todd Frady, for support. He contacted the local police and remained on the phone with Dills as she trailed the car, hoping to confirm the license plate was a match. Once she had verified the plate number at a stoplight, the police arrived within minutes.
Dills is the minister of music at the West Cramerton Baptist Church and told the Star she had been praying for the victims in Charleston. “Those people were in their church just trying to learn the word of God,” she said.
She gave credit to a higher power for her role in the arrest. “It was God that made this happen,” she told CNN. “It don’t have nothing to do with Debbie. It don’t have nothing to do with Todd. It was all about Him. He made this happen. He answered the prayers of those people that were praying in Charleston last night, that were in those circles praying. God heard the prayers of the people and he just used us as vessels to get his work done.”
See Charleston Come Together to Mourn Church Shooting Victims
People sing "We Shall Overcome" during a service at Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesThe Rev. Sidney Davis leads mourners during a community prayer service for the nine victims of the shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, at Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston, S.C. on June 18, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesMourners gather outside Morris Brown AME Church for a vigil one day after a mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersMourners hold hands as they pause outside Morris Brown AME Church during a vigil one day after a mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 18, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersNine-year-old Liam Eller (R), helps officers move flowers left behind outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after the street was re-opened a day after a mass shooting left nine dead during a bible study at the church in Charleston, South Carolina, June 18, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersKim Hamby, right, prays with her daughter Kayla, 4, as they lay flowers at a makeshift memorial down the street from where a church shooting killed nine people in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.David Goldman—APPeople sit on the steps of the Morris Brown AME Church while services are held one day after the church shooting in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople wait outside of Morris Brown AME Church while services are held in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople gather outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after the street was re-opened a day after a mass shooting left nine dead during a bible study at the church in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersReverend Al Sharpton visits the memorial site at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine people were murdered in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015.John Taggart—EPAMourners cast shadows on the walls and the makeshift memorial at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. on June 18, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersMourners light candles for the nine victims of the shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 18, 2015 in Charleston, S.C. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images
