Friend of accused Charleston gunman arrested: media reports

[September 18, 2015]  By Harriet McLeod
 
 CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - A friend of the accused gunman in the shooting massacre that killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina in June was arrested by federal agents on Thursday, local media reported.

Joseph Meek Jr. had given 21-year-old Dylann Roof a place to stay in the weeks before the killings at a historic church in Charleston, according to newspaper reports.

He faced a charge of misprision of a felony, or concealing knowledge of a crime from authorities, the Post and Courier in Charleston reported, citing unnamed officials.

Reuters could not independently confirm the arrest reported by the Post and Courier as well as the State newspaper in Columbia.

Meek was a "potential target" in a federal investigation into the shootings, the State reported on Tuesday. He denied committing any crimes, the paper said.

Roof faces 33 federal hate crime and firearms charges, along with state murder charges.

(Writing by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by David Adams and Peter Cooney)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.