Roof’s family says ‘We will always love Dylann’

Dylann Roof’s family, who are from the Columbia, S.C., area, immediately sent out a statement after a federal jury on Tuesday sentenced Roof to death:

“We are Dylann Roof’s family. We will always love Dylann. We will struggle as long as we live to understand why he committed this horrible attack, which caused so much pain to so many good people. We wish to express the grief we feel for the victims of his crimes, and our sympathy to the many families he has hurt. We continue to pray for the Emanuel AME families and the Charleston community.”

Dylann Roof’s spiritual advisor, Father John Parker of Mount Pleasant, sent this out:

“I denounce Dylann’s unspeakable crimes. I pray fervently for the victims, their surviving family and friends, and for the faithful of Mother Emanuel. As an Orthodox Christian, I serve Dylann in imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who instructed us to visit the imprisoned and to bless those who curse us.”

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Roof’s family says ‘We will always love Dylann’."