Charleston shooting suspect's sister trying to raise money for wedding
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The sister of the man accused of killing nine people at a Charleston church has taken down a website profile she used to ask for donations to help pay for her wedding, which was originally planned for the weekend after the slayings.
"Our wedding day was full of sorrow, pain, and shame, tainted by the actions of one man," read the Go Fund Me profile set up in the name of Amber Roof. "The Charleston Massacre took place and our lives were forever changed."
The page, titled "A Fresh Start For Michael and Amber," sought $5,000 to cover lost wedding costs, pay bills and fund a honeymoon. Roof and fiance Michael Tyo called off their June 21 wedding after her brother, Dylann Storm Roof, was charged with shooting nine people to death during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The alleged shooter wasn't mentioned anywhere on the fundraising site, which had totaled more than $1,700 in donations as of early Thursday afternoon.
But by 1:30 p.m., the site had vanished. According to Kelsea Little, a spokeswoman for Go Fund Me, the person who set up the page had taken it down.
Whoever sets up the Web page can still access the money even after a page is taken down, however.
Amber Roof did not immediately respond to a message sent via the Go Fund Me page, and a working phone number for her could not be found.
In their online message, the couple said they would donate 10 percent of the money that they raised to the church.
"We canceled our wedding to protect our family and mourn the lives of those lost," wrote the couple, who did not give details about their rescheduled wedding or honeymoon plans.