Official: Friend of Charleston church shooter arrested

An official says a friend of the white man who shot nine black churchgoers to death has been arrested.

The official close to the investigation spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the case.

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It’s not immediately clear what charges 21-year-old Joey Meek faces. Authorities notified Meek last month they had begun investigating him for lying to investigators and failing to report a crime.

Meek has said Dylann Roof, the alleged church shooter, stayed with him before the June 17 shootings at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal.

Meek told The Associated Press that Roof had drunkenly complained that “blacks were taking over the world” and “someone needed to do something about it for the white race.”

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