A North Carolina florist is being hailed for her help catching the man accused of shooting and killing nine people inside a black church in Charleston.

Debbie Dills had been on her way to work Thursday morning when she saw a familiar black Hyundai next to her at a stoplight. She says her heart raced when she saw the driver: A white man with a bowlcut, just like the photos of the suspect she had seen on the news.

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The apprehension of 21-year-old Dylann Roof ended an intense, hours-long manhunt.

Dills says she called her boss, Todd Frady, who called a police officer he knew. That officer contacted the Shelby Police Department, whose officers captured Roof.

Dills says she caught up with the suspect and got a license plate number, following the car for about 2 miles while police confirmed it was the right car.

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Roey Shoshan sits inside the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Dunwoody on Friday, June 27, 2025. Shoshan was born and raised in Israel and has lived in the United States for more than a decade. (Natrice Miller/AJC)