Argument follows labeling of Charleston church slayings “domestic terrorism”

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With some calling the killings “domestic terrorism,” and others sharply disagreeing, callers to WJCT’s First Coast Connect were sharply divided in reactions to Wednesday’s mass church shooting in Charleston, S.C., that left nine people dead.

“It is fair to call it domestic terrorism,” said JeffriAnne Wilder, professor of sociology at the University of North Florida. Wilder is a noted speaker across the country on race and diversity issues.

“Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize that. But we’ve seen similar cases in not-so-distant history of people walking into mosques and synagogues and killing peaceful people inside. Those were also acts of terror.”

Dylann Roof, 21, has been taken into custody in Shelby, N.C., after authorities say he opened fire during a Bible study group at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, the oldest historically African-American church in the South.

Witnesses say the gunman stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people,” according to law enforcement officials.

“Here is a church with a rich history steeped in advocacy and activism, pushing forward notions of justice and equality — to see this happen is horrific, just senseless. Just 50-odd years ago, something similar happened at a church in Birmingham,” Wilder said. “It seems that in this country, every time we think we’re moving toward a post-racial society something like this happens.”

A picture of Roof on social media shows him wearing a jacket with what appear to be the flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, once ruled by a white minority prior to its modern identity as Zimbabwe.

Federal authorities have opened a hate crime investigation into the church killings.

“All things point toward it being a hate crime, and hopefully with this being categorized in that way, they’ll have the resources to bring this man to justice,” said Wilder, who politely disagreed with callers and other pundits who objected to labeling the shooting spree “domestic terrorism.”

Melissa Ross

In addition to her work writing for Florida Politics, Melissa Ross also hosts and produces WJCT’s First Coast Connect, the Jacksonville NPR/PBS station’s flagship local call-in public affairs radio program. The show has won four national awards from Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). First Coast Connect was also recognized in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 as Best Local Radio Show by Folio Weekly’s “Best Of Jax” Readers Poll and Melissa has also been recognized as Folio Weekly’s Best Local Radio Personality. As executive producer of The 904: Shadow on the Sunshine State, Melissa and WJCT received an Emmy in the “Documentary” category at the 2011 Suncoast Emmy Awards. The 904 examined Jacksonville’s status as Florida’s murder capital. During her years in broadcast television, Melissa picked up three additional Emmys for news and feature reporting. Melissa came to WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. Married with two children, Melissa is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism/Communications. She can be reached at [email protected].



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