--- description: Alleged Charleston shooter Dylann Roof was taken into custody Thursday in Shelby, N.C. thanks to a tip from local florist Debbie Dills. title: How a Florist Helped Catch the Charleston Shooting Suspect image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ebcfb2a2e32d2c/6988554fe20a875dffa8bead/ap602253680003.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How a Local Florist Helped to Catch Charleston Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2015 4:47 AM CUT  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, 2015 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 by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2015 4:47 AM CUT After a tragic night and a tense 14-hour search, alleged Charleston shooter Dylann Roof [was taken into custody](http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/ "undefined") 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_](http://www.shelbystar.com/news/local/breaking-tip-from-kings-mountain-florists-led-to-charleston-shooting-suspect-s-arrest-1.492375 "undefined"). “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.” \[[_CNN_](http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/ "undefined")\] ### 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 Images  The 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 Images  Mourners 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—Reuters  Mourners 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—Reuters  Nine-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—Reuters  Kim 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—AP  People 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 Images  People wait outside of Morris Brown AME Church while services are held in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  People 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—Reuters  Reverend 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—EPA  Mourners 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—Reuters  Mourners 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 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/"},"headline":"How a Local Florist Helped to Catch Charleston Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof","datePublished":"2015-06-19T04:47:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:36.016Z","description":"Debbie Dills said something about Roof's car \"didn't look right to me\"","url":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/","keywords":["Crime","Gun Violence","tragedy","South Carolina","Charleston","Dylann Roof","Charleston Church Shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ebcfb2a2e32d2c/6988554fe20a875dffa8bead/ap602253680003.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ebcfb2a2e32d2c/6988554fe20a875dffa8bead/ap602253680003.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Charleston Shooting","caption":"Charleston Shooting","creditText":"Gabe Whisnant—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/","name":"How a Local Florist Helped to Catch Charleston Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Alleged Charleston Shooter Arrested","description":"A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston on Wednesday night, killing nine people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pAFOX8tB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-18T08:44:08.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pAFOX8tB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3927802/south-carolina-dylann-roof-charleston-church-shooting-charleston-white-supremacy-gun-violence/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```