UPDATE: Police have positively identified the shooter as Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Columbia South Carolina, and have since arrested him in Shelby, North Carolina, about 200 miles from the church.
Authorities say that Roof had racial motivations for carrying out the shooting.
On Thursday morning, the FBI released information on the man they suspect to have carried out a shooting on June 17 at a historic African-American church in Charleston that left nine dead and left another three in the hospital.
According to Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, the shooting occurred at around 9 p.m. during one of the bible studies held at Emanuel A.M.E. Church, which is the oldest African-American congregation in the South.
Dylann Roof, 21, of Columbia was identified as a potential suspect due to his numerous and recent arrests in South Carolina.
On March 3, Roof faced drug charges in Lexington County, and also faced trespassing charges on April 26.
The Justice Department announced that it has opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting.
The shooting was “a most unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy” according to Charleston Mayor Joe Riley. “An evil and hateful person took the lives of citizens who had come to worship and pray together," he said.
One of the victims was church pastor and South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney, according to church goers.
Newly released information reveals that the suspected shooter was on scene for over an hour before the shooting.
According to one survivor, the shooter was sitting inside the church for a while, before standing up to begin shooting.
The gunman then allegedly told the survivor that he let her live so she could tell everyone what happened.
In police footage, the shooter is seen wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt and is said to have escaped in a black four-door sedan.
"This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience," Mullen said. "It is senseless, and it is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives."