Official: Friend of Charleston church shooter arrested
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A friend of the white man who shot nine black churchgoers to death in Charleston, South Carolina has been arrested, a federal law enforcement source tells CBS News.
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 shooting, which took place at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal.
During an interview in June, 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."
Meek told CBS News that Roof told him he wanted to "start a civil war."
Meek, who claims he called authorities after recognizing Roof from surveillance footage from the church, said his friend also told him he used birthday money from his parents to buy a .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun.
Roof faces nine counts of murder and other charges in state court in connection with the killings at the church. He also faces dozens of federal charges including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion.
The state has said it will seek the death penalty in the case.