The FBI has arrested Joey Meek, a friend of Charleston shooter Dylann Roof. CNN reports that Meek overheard Roof, who was in a drunken state, say he was going “to do something crazy.” Meek subsequently hid Roof’s gun. The charges facing Meek are not known, but law enforcement has been investigating whether he knew beforehand about Roof's plans to commit his heinous act of violence and didn't alert authorities in the process.
Meek said he didn't take Roof seriously, but immediately called the FBI when he heard that a suspect matching Roof’s description had killed nine people in a church. He gave authorities Roof’s license plate and what he was wearing.
Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder at the state and federal level, where he’s also being charged with hate crimes and firearm offenses. Each count carries the death penalty.
Roof was able to purchase a .45 caliber handgun before he committed this senseless racially motivated shooting because of a clerical error in the National Instant Background Check System, which was not updated to reflect his admission to a pending narcotics charge, an offense that would have barred him from buying a gun legally. FBI Director James Comey admitted to the error.