The young white man arrested in the wake of a gun massacre in a black church in the US state of South Carolina has been charged with nine murders, city police said Friday.

Charleston Police said on Twitter that 21-year-old Dylann Roof would face a bond hearing at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT). He has been charged with the killings as well as possession of a firearm during a violent crime.

Several US media outlets have reported that Roof confessed to investigators that he walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on Wednesday night and opened fire on a Bible study class.

The carnage was the worst at a US place of worship in decades. All of the victims were black.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said Friday she believed Roof should face the death penalty if convicted. Capital punishment is legal in the southern state.