DOJ reaches settlements with victims' families in 2015 Charleston church shooting

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with victims' families in 2015 Charleston church shooting.

The Justice Department on Thursday announced it had reached settlements with the families of victims murdered by Dylann Roof in the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting.

Families had sued the federal government in 2016 because Roof was able to purchase a gun to carry out the shooting, despite having a prior criminal history.

The civil case has since made its way through the court system, with a federal appeals court ruling that families could sue the government.

The shooting, which took place in June 2015 at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killed nine African American worshippers.