Police: 9 dead in shooting at black church in Charleston, S.C. Melanie Eversley
USA TODAY 1:05 a.m. EDT June 18, 2015
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Nine people have died in a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., police said early Thursday morning.
"I do believe this was a hate crime," Police Chief Gregory Mullen said.
Eight people died on the scene at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and one person was pronounced dead at a hospital, Mullen said.
People were taking part in a prayer meeting at the time of the incident, Mayor Joe Riley said during the press conference.
"This is inexplicable," Riley said. "It is the most intolerable and unbelievable act possible... The only reason someone could walk into church and shoot people praying is out of hate."
Emanuel is the oldest AME church in the South and is led by South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a Democrat. The church has one of the oldest and largest black congregations south of Baltimore, according to its website. Denmark Vesey, executed for attempting to organize a major slave rebellion, was one of the founders.
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church sits at 110 Calhoun St. in Charleston, S.C. (Photo: Facebook) Pinckney was believed to be inside during the shooting, his legislative colleague, state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, told the Post and Courier.
The shooting took place at about 9 p.m. ET, Charleston police said via Twitter. The gunman is still on the loose, police told said.
The suspect is a clean-shaven white male about 21-years-old and is wearing a gray sweatshirt or hoodie, blue jeans and Timberland boots, officials said.
The FBI and chaplains were on the scene, Post and Courier reporter Melissa Boughton tweeted.
An emergency medical worker told people on the street to "drive far away or to go indoors," Boughton
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I thought after Obama got elected, while there is still plenty of racism in America, that maybe things would be on a gradual road of less racism
Instead 'race' is a huge issue again in the past couple of years
flashback to Atlanta, 1963.
Guess who I don't want to hear about right now? This kook Rachel Dolezal
Things just got real, very upset
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Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is the oldest AME church in the south. It is referred to as "Mother Emanuel". Emanuel has one of the largest and oldest black congregations south of Baltimore, Maryland. The current pastor of "Mother Emanuel" is The Rev. Clementa Pinckney.
Jesus died a passionate death for us, so our love for Him should be as passionate.
The history of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church reflects the development of religious institutions for African Americans in Charleston. Dating back to the fall of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Richard Allen founded the Free African Society, adhering to the Doctrines of Methodism established by John Wesley. In 1816, black members of Charleston's Methodist Episcopal church withdrew over disputed burial ground, and under the leadership of Morris Brown. The Rev. Morris Brown organized a church of persons of color and sought to have it affiliated with Allen's church. Three churches arose under the Free African Society and were named the "Bethel Circuit". One of the Circuit churches was located in the suburbs of Ansonborough, Hampstead, and Cow Alley, now known as Philadelphia Alley in the French Quarters of Charleston. Emanuel's congregation grew out of the Hampstead Church, located at Reid and Hanover Streets.
In 1822 the church was investigated for its involvement with a planned slave revolt. Denmark Vesey, one of the church's founders, organized a major slave uprising in Charleston. Vesey was raised in slavery in the Virgin Islands among newly imported Africans. He was the personal servant of slavetrader Captain Joseph Vesey, who settled in Charleston in 1783. Beginning in December 1821, Vesey began to organize a slave rebellion, but authorities were informed of the plot before it could take place. The plot created mass hysteria throughout the Carolinas and the South. Brown, suspected but never convicted of knowledge of the plot, went north to Philadelphia where he eventually became the second bishop of the AME denomination.
During the Vesey controversy, the AME church was burned. Worship services continued after the church was rebuilt until 1834 when all black churches were outlawed. The congregation continued the tradition of the African church by worshipping underground until 1865 when it was formally reorganized, and the name Emanuel was adopted, meaning "God with us". The wooden two-story church that was built on the present site in 1872 was destroyed by the devastating earthquake of August 31, 1886. The present edifice was completed in 1891 under the pastorate of the Rev. L. Ruffin Nichols. The magnificent brick structure with encircling marble panels was restored, redecorated and stuccoed during the years of 1949-51 under the leadership of the Rev. Frank R. Veal. The bodies of the Rev. Nichols and his wife were exhumed and entomed in the base of the steeple so that they may forever be with the Emanuel that they helped to nurture.
Charleston church shooting: Suspect confesses, says he sought race war By Ed Payne and Greg Botelho, CNN Updated 9:25 AM ET, Fri June 19, 2015
(CNN)Dylann Roof admits he did it, two law enforcement officials said -- shooting and killing nine people he'd sat with for Bible study at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina,
But why? To start a race war, Roof told investigators, according to one of the officials.
Others have given a glimpse into the twisted motivations of Roof, who is white, to shoot up the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Sylvia Johnson told CNN that a survivor told her he'd answered pleas to stop by saying, "No, you've raped our women, and you are taking over the country ... I have to do what I have to do."
His roommate told ABC News that Roof was "big into segregation." And the Berkeley County, South Carolina, government tweeted a picture of him wearing a jacket with flags from apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that was ruled by a white minority until it became independent in 1980.
By telling authorities his aim, Roof admitted he attacked unarmed civilians for political purposes in an act of terror.
What led the 21-year-old South Carolinian to adopt this sick reasoning and take such actions Wednesday night? Did anyone else help him or even know about his plans? And what is his general mental state? Are all major, looming questions. Another is what American society should or will do now, if anything, to prevent similar tragedies.
In the meantime, a community -- and nine families, in particular -- are left to mourn.
Help Charleston heal
Roommate: 'He wanted something big like Trayvon Martin' While he may not say much, Roof should get his first chance to speak up in court Friday for a presumed bond hearing.
Authorities and the public are trying to piece together how he got there.
John Mullins recalls "racist slurs in a sense" that Roof made while the two attended White Knoll High School in Lexington, South Carolina, though he also remembers him having black friends.
"He would say it just as a joke," Mullins told CNN. "I never took it seriously. But ... maybe they should have been."
Who is Dylann Roof?
Joey Meek told ABC that talk of reinstating segregation was nothing new for Roof, his roommate. He'd been plotting something for six months, though "he never did any of that," and authorities weren't tipped off.
"I think he wanted something big like Trayvon Martin," Meek said, referring to the black Florida teen whose shooting death at the hands of George Zimmerman -- who was acquitted of murder -- provoked huge protests. "He wanted to make something spark up the race war again."
Officials: Suspect bought a gun in April It's one thing to talk of stirring racial hatred, another to act on it to kill nine innocent people -- including the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator who had welcomed Roof into the Bible study session.
One key part of this horrific scheme -- the weapon -- came in April, when Roof bought a .45-caliber handgun at a Charleston gun store, according to the two law enforcement officials. His grandfather says that Roof was given "birthday money" and that the family didn't know what Roof did with it.
New video shows church group moments before shooting 01:15 PLAY VIDEO He apparently didn't hint at his intentions when he went to the historic church Wednesday. A Snapchat video shows him at a table with a small group, not anything to suggest the carnage to come.
When the Bible study ended after about an hour, "they just heard just a ringing of a loud noise," Johnson said, relaying a survivor's account.
From what Johnson heard, the gunman reloaded five times. Six women died at the scene, as did two men -- with a third, the Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., passing away later during surgery. Johnson said her friend played dead, lying in the blood of her slain son.
Before Roof left the church, he asked one of the elderly members whether he had shot her, and she said no.
"And he said, 'Good, because we need a survivor because I'm going to kill myself,' " Johnson told CNN.
Emanuel AME: A storied church in a historic city
Woman spotted, followed suspect's car Roof then took off, hopping into his car and heading north.
Debbie Dills spotted a vehicle matching the description given by authorities, noticing the South Carolina license plate.
"I don't know what drew my attention to the car," Dills told CNN. "In my mind I'm thinking, 'That can't be.' ... I never dreamed that it would be the car."
She followed him more than 30 miles, keeping authorities updated along the way.
Police in Shelby, North Carolina -- about 245 miles (395 kilometers) from Charleston -- then pulled him over and took him into custody.
He then waived extradition and returned to South Carolina late Thursday. He could face his first court appearance, in this case, in his home state as early as Friday for a possible bond hearing.
Federal authorities have opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting at the oldest AME church in the South, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Said Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, "The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate."
Sadness, shock, rage and resilience
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