A 21-year-old white man has been charged with nine counts of murder for an attack on a historic black South Carolina church, local police said on Friday, with media reporting that he had hoped his actions would incite a race war in the United States.

Dylann Roof is due to face a bail hearing later on Friday, where he will appear by video link and also face a charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, the Charleston Police Department said.

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