- Charleston shooting victim posted Snapchat from Bible study just before attack
- Couple dies after keyless car mistakenly left on in garage, officials say
- Uncle: Dylann Roof is 'guilty as hell' and will 'ride the lightning'
- 9 killed in mass shooting at AME church in Charleston, S.C.
- Blake Shelton comes to the aid of flood-stranded neighbor
A handful of GOP presidential hopefuls stumbled when offering remarks about the Charleston church shooting that claimed nine lives Wednesday, while a former GOP presidential nominee offered a declaration that is surprising many.
Dylann Roof, 21, has confessed to the killings at Emmanuel AME Church, which appear to be racially-motivated, according to Roof himself and the eyewitness accounts of those who survived the attack.
Rick Perry
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry drew ire for claiming that the killings were an “accident.” The comment came during an interview with Newsmax, and Perry was chastising the president for pushing his political agenda when addressing the case.
"This is the M.O. of this administration anytime there is a[n] accident like this," Perry is quoted as saying.
Perry's campaign quickly pointed out that it was merely a slip of the tongue, and that Perry meant to say incident instead of accident, according to the Washington Post.
Jeb Bush
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was criticized for saying he didn’t know what motivated Roof to commit the murders.
"I don't know what was on the mind or the heart of the man who committed these atrocious crimes," the former Florida governor said at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference.
Rick Santorum
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum offered this viewpoint when asked about the situation on a New York-based radio show.
“This is one of those situations where you just have to take a step back and say we — you know, you talk about the importance of prayer in this time and we’re now seeing assaults on our religious liberty we’ve never seen before. It’s a time for deeper reflection beyond this horrible situation.”
While Santorum was asked the question while the case was still unfolding, critics claim that it was wrong to focus on religious liberty when the case already appeared to be racially motivated.
Lindsey Graham
In response to the question of whether the Charleston shootings are a hate crime, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on The View that, "It's 2015. There are people out there, looking for Christians to kill them." Critics were quick to jump on Graham's conclusion that Christians are being targeted in such a way.
Mitt Romney
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took a stand against the Confederate flag flying in South Carolina. He addressed the issue on his official Twitter account, saying it is time for the flag to come down and that for many, it is a symbol of racial hatred.
