“Hate Won't Win”: Massacre Victims' Families Forgive Suspect

"I forgive you," the daughter of a woman gunned down along with eight other worshipers during a Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston told the man charged with their murder in court Friday. "Hate won't win," another victim's relative told the suspect. Dylann Roof, 21, softly spoke few words to the judge as he was charged with nine counts of murder and a weapon charge and as his bond was set at $1 million, only saying his age and that he was unemployed. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is investigating the massacre as a possible hate crime or act of domestic terror. Earlier, Roof had told police he "almost didn't go through with it because everyone was so nice to him" but nevertheless decided to "go through with his mission," sources told NBC News. A friend said Roof had previously ranted about "blacks taking over the world" and wanted segregation.

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