Dylann Roof, the suspected gunman in the church killings, was arrested after being spotted and followed as he drove in North Carolina

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A North Carolina florist is being hailed a hero after alerting police when she spotted the suspected gunman Dylann Storm Roof’s car early on Thursday and then tailing him until authorities arrived.

Debbie Dills was driving to work on Thursday through Shelby, North Carolina – about four hours’ drive from Charleston – when she spotted a black Hyundai with a South Carolina plate and a confederate flag.

“There was just something inside of me that said it just didn’t look right to me,” she said.

When she pulled up alongside, she saw the driver’s blond bowl haircut and immediately called her boss, Todd Frady.

“I think this is the guy from Charleston who shot the people. I’m right beside him,” she told Frady.

Frady called the King’s Mountain police and Dills pulled in close to identify the licence plate.

She then tailed the car for 56km (35 miles), still not entirely sure he was the young man police had been hunting for 14 hours.

“Everything inside of me said it’s possible, but everything inside of me didn’t want to believe it either,” she said.

King’s Mountain police arrived within 15 minutes and arrested Roof, who did not resist.

“It was God who made this happen,” she said of the credit she received. “It don’t have nothing to do with Debbie. It don’t have nothing to do with Todd. It’s all about him.



“He answered the prayers of those people who were praying in Charleston last night, who were holding hands and praying.”