http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/18/reverend-clementa-pinckney-among-nine-victims--charleston-sc-church-shooting/28913069/
Slain Rev. Pinckney described as 'a giant, a legend'
by Matthew Diebel,
USA TODAY
June 18, 2015
Pastor Clementa Pinckney is among those killed in a shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The 41-year-old was also serving as a South Carolina state senator at the time of his death. VPC
"He was a giant, a legend, a moral compass."
Those are the words used by fellow state Senator Marlon Kimpson on CNN Thursday morning to describe the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor and politician who was among nine people killed when a white gunman opened fire Wednesday evening at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Pinckney's sister also died in the shooting, said J. Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the state's House of Representatives. Her name has not been released, and the other victims, two men and five women, were not immediately identified.
Rutherford, who has served in the State Legislature with Pinckney since 1998, told the New York Times that his colleague was "a man driven by public service" whose booming voice inspired his congregation and constituents.
Pinckney, 41, was married with two children and had served in the state Senate since 2000, according to an online biography on the church's website.
Sen. Clementa Pinckney speaks at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Pinckney was killed Wednesday in a shooting at an historic black church in Charleston, S.C., where he was pastor. (Photo: Grace Beahm, AP)
The pastor was a magna cum laude graduate of Allen University with a degree in business administration, and went on to earn a master's degree in the same subject at the University of South Carolina, the site said. He then obtained a master's of divinity from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
According to Rutherford and the website, Pinckney started preaching at 13 and received his first appointment to be a pastor at 18. At 23, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives as the youngest state legislator in South Carolina history, and in 2000 was elected to the State Senate. Washington Post columnist David Broder called Pinckney a "political spirit lifter for surprisingly not becoming cynical about politics," the site said.
A black mourning cloth was draped over Pinckney's seat in the Senate chamber in the capital, Columbia, Thursday. Later in the day, a suspect in the killings, Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested in Shelby, N.C.
In 1999, Ebony magazine named Pinckney as one of 30 African-American leaders of the future. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Eliana and Malana.
State Rep. Wendell Gilliard told the Charleston Post and Courier that he visited Pinckney's wife and daughters after the shooting, and said that the family is "surrounded by friends."
In April, Pinckney helped lead a prayer vigil for Walter Scott, a black South Carolina man who was shot dead by a police officer as he tried to run away.
The veteran civil rights campaigner Al Sharpton, who was also involved in the vigil, tweeted on Wednesday night: "Rev. Clements Pinckney, a SC legislator is among the 9 killed in SC church. I am reminded that he helped lead our prayer vigil for Scott."
The church is one of the nation's oldest black congregations. It is housed in a 1891 Gothic Revival building which is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park Service, which said that the church is the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore.
The congregation was formed by black members of Charleston's Methodist Episcopal Church who broke away "over disputed burial ground," according to the park service's website.
In 1822, one of the church's co-founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to start a slave rebellion in Charleston, the website added. The plot was discovered and 35 people were executed, including Vesey.
The Rev. Joseph Darby of the AME Church in Beaufort, S.C., described Pinckney as "an advocate for the people." He told MSNBC that "he was a very caring and competent pastor, and he was a very brave man. Brave men sometimes die difficult deaths."
After news of South Carolina state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney's death at the hands of a gunman at his Charleston church, fellow State Senator Kevin Johnson said Pinckney had a passion for the less fortunate in his state. WLTX
Pinckney ‘was the moral conscience of the General Assembly’
by ANDREW SHAIN
ashain@thestate.com
CHARLESTON, SC
S.C. Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a Jasper County Democrat who served in the General Assembly for 18 years, died Wednesday after a shooting in the downtown Charleston church where he was the pastor. He was 41.
Pinckney was among nine victims that Charleston police say were killed by a lone white gunman at Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest African-American churches in the South.
“He was the most kind, gentle man in the Senate, and I am not just saying that now,” said state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington. “He was quiet ... until he spoke with that beautiful Barry White voice. His words were always well thought out, not just words. He always stopped by to ask how you were doing and shake your hand or pat you on the back. He was a good man.”
State Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, said Pinckney went back to the AME church Wednesday after lawmakers finished work for the day in Columbia.
Kimpson said Pinckney wanted to attend a meeting to plan a conference. That meeting had ended, and some members stayed for a Bible study that the shooter participated in, Kimpson said.
Pinckney, Kimpson said, “was the moral conscience of the General Assembly.”
“He will be dearly missed, but it’s up to us as elected officials to use this as an opportunity to bring healing to the nation and double our efforts to foster race relations in the state,” Kimpson said in an interview Thursday morning near Pinckney’s church.
Earlier this year, Pinckney helped build support for a bill that will pave the way for S.C. police officers to have body cameras, a proposal that gained momentum after Walter Scott, an unarmed North Charleston black man, was shot and killed by a police officer.
“It was his speech on the Senate floor about togetherness and belief that we can do better that brought the body-camera bill to passage and garnered largely bipartisan support,” Kimpson said. “He was a moral leader of the Senate, and when he spoke, people listened.”
Pinckney’s desk in the state Senate was draped Thursday with black cloth, per tradition on the passing of a senator.
Pinckney was known for his extensive work on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal church, said state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland.
“He was a man with a booming voice and notable presence, but always a peaceful, calming presence,” said Rutherford, the House minority leader. “He did not want to pick fights. Even when I was pushing him to pick a fight on the Jasper Port, he said, ‘No, we need to do it a different way.’ ”
Pinckney grew up in Jasper County and lived in Ridgeland, even though his church is in Charleston. He came from a family of preachers – several of whom fought for civil rights, according to published reports.
He was ordained at 18. He served as a pastor at Youngs Chapel AME Church in Irmo, Jericho and Porter’s Chapel AME Churches in Beaufort, Mount Horr AME Church in Yonges Island and Campbell Chapel AME Church in Bluffton.
He started working at Emanuel AME in 2010.
Pinckney also became a politician at a young age.
He has elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 at age 23 after serving as a page in the State House. After serving two terms, he won a seat in the Senate in 2000 at age 27.
Pinckney said his youth was an advantage.
“I’m not set in my ways and not set in old ways,” he told The (Charleston) Post and Courier in 2001. “Just like slavery needed to die out, old ideas need to die out. Being young allows me to be open-minded.”
Pinckney was a member of the Senate’s finance, education, banking, corrections and medical affairs committees.
He told the Charleston paper that he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia’s Allen University in order to be able to better run his churches. He also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina.
He leaves a wife, Jennifer, and two young daughters, Eliana and Malana.
“I always felt God had called me to serve within the church because of what the church stands for,” Pinckney told The Post and Courier in 2010. “This has always been home.”
S.C. Legislative Black Caucus on death on Sen. Pinckney
“It is with heavy hearts that we, (the) S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, mourn the death of our colleague Sen. Clementa Pinckney. His life and the lives of eight others were taken in an act of domestic terrorism. The horrific events of last evening may have shaken our resolve but we are standing strong. We have lost a mighty statesman and man of God who will long be remembered for this integrity and servant nature.
“Sen. Pinckney was a servant leader who used his life to demonstrate his passion and love for his God and his community. A man of grand stature in appearance and spirit, Sen. Pinckney was a voice of reason for those ... he served. Since his time in the Legislature, Sen. Pinckney has brought positive change to not only the lives (of) the residents of Jasper County, but also to the lives of everyone he touched.
“Our prayers and love go out to his wife Jennifer and two children Eiliana and Malana and family members. We also pray for the families of the other eight victims, the community as well as the entire Mother Emanuel AME Church family.”
http://panopticonreview.blogspot.com/…/a-tribute-to-late-am…
http://www.theatlantic.com/…/take-down-the-confeder…/396290/
Politics
Take Down the Confederate Flag—Now
The flag that Dylann Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, endorses the violence he committed.
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
June 18, 2015
The Atlantic
Last night, Dylann Roof walked into a Charleston church, sat for an hour, and then killed nine people. Roof’s crime cannot be divorced from the ideology of white supremacy which long animated his state nor from its potent symbol—the Confederate flag. Visitors to Charleston have long been treated to South Carolina’s attempt to clean its history and depict its secession as something other than a war to guarantee the enslavement of the majority of its residents. This notion is belied by any serious interrogation of the Civil War and the primary documents of its instigators. Yet the Confederate battle flag—the flag of Dylann Roof—still flies on the Capitol grounds in Columbia.
The Confederate flag’s defenders often claim it represents “heritage not hate.” I agree—the heritage of White Supremacy was not so much birthed by hate as by the impulse toward plunder. Dylann Roof plundered nine different bodies last night, plundered nine different families of an original member, plundered nine different communities of a singular member. An entire people are poorer for his action. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this act—it endorses it. That the Confederate flag is the symbol of of white supremacists is evidenced by the very words of those who birthed it:
"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth..."
This moral truth—“that the negro is not equal to the white man”—is exactly what animated Dylann Roof. More than any individual actor, in recent history, Roof honored his flag in exactly the manner it always demanded—with human sacrifice.
Surely the flag’s defenders will proffer other, muddier, interpretations which allow them the luxury of looking away. In this way they honor their ancestors. Cowardice, too, is heritage. When white supremacist John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago, Booth’s fellow travelers did all they could to disassociate themselves. “Our disgust for the dastardly wretch can scarcely be uttered,” fumed a former governor of South Carolina, the state where secession began. Robert E. Lee’s armies took special care to enslave free blacks during their Northern campaign. But Lee claimed the assassination of the Great Emancipator was “deplorable.” Jefferson Davis believed that “it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the South,” and angrily denied rumors that he had greeted the news with exultation.
Villain though he was, Booth was a man who understood the logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric:
"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN":
Right or wrong. God judge me, not man. For be my motive good or bad, of one thing I am sure, the lasting condemnation of the North.
I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expression. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark clouds to break, and for a restoration of our former sunshine. To wait longer would be a crime. All hope for peace is dead. My prayers have proved as idle as my hopes. God's will be done. I go to see and share the bitter end….
I have ever held the South were right. The very nomination of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, four years ago, spoke plainly, war—war upon Southern rights and institutions….
This country was formed for the white, not for the black man. And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution. I for one, have ever considered if one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation. Witness heretofore our wealth and power; witness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. I have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. Yet, Heaven knows, no one would be willing to do more for the negro race than I, could I but see a way to still better their condition.
By 1865, the Civil War had morphed into a war against slavery—the “cornerstone” of Confederate society. Booth absorbed his lesson too well. He did not violate some implicit rule of Confederate chivalry or politesse. He accurately interpreted the cause of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, men who were too weak to truthfully address that cause’s natural end.
Moral cowardice requires choice and action. It demands that its adherents repeatedly look away, that they favor the fanciful over the plain, myth over history, the dream over the real. Here is another choice.
Take down the flag. Take it down now.
Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. Move forward. Abandon this charlatanism. Drive out this cult of death and chains. Save your lovely souls. Move forward. Do it now.
All,
If President Obama doesn’t attend the funeral of the victims of this massacre and at the very least speak forcefully before the entire nation about the heinous evil of white supremacy in the U.S. he is nothing but a completely useless coward...
Kofi
All,
DON’T FORGET THAT THE CONFEDERATE FLAG STILL FLIES ALONGSIDE THE AMERICAN FLAG OVER EVERY SINGLE STATE AND FEDERAL BUILDING IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?…
Kofi
Slain Rev. Pinckney described as 'a giant, a legend'
by Matthew Diebel,
USA TODAY
June 18, 2015
Pastor Clementa Pinckney is among those killed in a shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The 41-year-old was also serving as a South Carolina state senator at the time of his death. VPC
"He was a giant, a legend, a moral compass."
Those are the words used by fellow state Senator Marlon Kimpson on CNN Thursday morning to describe the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor and politician who was among nine people killed when a white gunman opened fire Wednesday evening at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Pinckney's sister also died in the shooting, said J. Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the state's House of Representatives. Her name has not been released, and the other victims, two men and five women, were not immediately identified.
Rutherford, who has served in the State Legislature with Pinckney since 1998, told the New York Times that his colleague was "a man driven by public service" whose booming voice inspired his congregation and constituents.
Pinckney, 41, was married with two children and had served in the state Senate since 2000, according to an online biography on the church's website.
Sen. Clementa Pinckney speaks at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Pinckney was killed Wednesday in a shooting at an historic black church in Charleston, S.C., where he was pastor. (Photo: Grace Beahm, AP)
The pastor was a magna cum laude graduate of Allen University with a degree in business administration, and went on to earn a master's degree in the same subject at the University of South Carolina, the site said. He then obtained a master's of divinity from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
According to Rutherford and the website, Pinckney started preaching at 13 and received his first appointment to be a pastor at 18. At 23, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives as the youngest state legislator in South Carolina history, and in 2000 was elected to the State Senate. Washington Post columnist David Broder called Pinckney a "political spirit lifter for surprisingly not becoming cynical about politics," the site said.
A black mourning cloth was draped over Pinckney's seat in the Senate chamber in the capital, Columbia, Thursday. Later in the day, a suspect in the killings, Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested in Shelby, N.C.
In 1999, Ebony magazine named Pinckney as one of 30 African-American leaders of the future. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Eliana and Malana.
State Rep. Wendell Gilliard told the Charleston Post and Courier that he visited Pinckney's wife and daughters after the shooting, and said that the family is "surrounded by friends."
In April, Pinckney helped lead a prayer vigil for Walter Scott, a black South Carolina man who was shot dead by a police officer as he tried to run away.
The veteran civil rights campaigner Al Sharpton, who was also involved in the vigil, tweeted on Wednesday night: "Rev. Clements Pinckney, a SC legislator is among the 9 killed in SC church. I am reminded that he helped lead our prayer vigil for Scott."
The church is one of the nation's oldest black congregations. It is housed in a 1891 Gothic Revival building which is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park Service, which said that the church is the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore.
The congregation was formed by black members of Charleston's Methodist Episcopal Church who broke away "over disputed burial ground," according to the park service's website.
In 1822, one of the church's co-founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to start a slave rebellion in Charleston, the website added. The plot was discovered and 35 people were executed, including Vesey.
The Rev. Joseph Darby of the AME Church in Beaufort, S.C., described Pinckney as "an advocate for the people." He told MSNBC that "he was a very caring and competent pastor, and he was a very brave man. Brave men sometimes die difficult deaths."
After news of South Carolina state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney's death at the hands of a gunman at his Charleston church, fellow State Senator Kevin Johnson said Pinckney had a passion for the less fortunate in his state. WLTX
Pinckney ‘was the moral conscience of the General Assembly’
by ANDREW SHAIN
ashain@thestate.com
CHARLESTON, SC
S.C. Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a Jasper County Democrat who served in the General Assembly for 18 years, died Wednesday after a shooting in the downtown Charleston church where he was the pastor. He was 41.
Pinckney was among nine victims that Charleston police say were killed by a lone white gunman at Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest African-American churches in the South.
“He was the most kind, gentle man in the Senate, and I am not just saying that now,” said state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington. “He was quiet ... until he spoke with that beautiful Barry White voice. His words were always well thought out, not just words. He always stopped by to ask how you were doing and shake your hand or pat you on the back. He was a good man.”
State Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, said Pinckney went back to the AME church Wednesday after lawmakers finished work for the day in Columbia.
Kimpson said Pinckney wanted to attend a meeting to plan a conference. That meeting had ended, and some members stayed for a Bible study that the shooter participated in, Kimpson said.
Pinckney, Kimpson said, “was the moral conscience of the General Assembly.”
“He will be dearly missed, but it’s up to us as elected officials to use this as an opportunity to bring healing to the nation and double our efforts to foster race relations in the state,” Kimpson said in an interview Thursday morning near Pinckney’s church.
Earlier this year, Pinckney helped build support for a bill that will pave the way for S.C. police officers to have body cameras, a proposal that gained momentum after Walter Scott, an unarmed North Charleston black man, was shot and killed by a police officer.
“It was his speech on the Senate floor about togetherness and belief that we can do better that brought the body-camera bill to passage and garnered largely bipartisan support,” Kimpson said. “He was a moral leader of the Senate, and when he spoke, people listened.”
Pinckney’s desk in the state Senate was draped Thursday with black cloth, per tradition on the passing of a senator.
Pinckney was known for his extensive work on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal church, said state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland.
“He was a man with a booming voice and notable presence, but always a peaceful, calming presence,” said Rutherford, the House minority leader. “He did not want to pick fights. Even when I was pushing him to pick a fight on the Jasper Port, he said, ‘No, we need to do it a different way.’ ”
Pinckney grew up in Jasper County and lived in Ridgeland, even though his church is in Charleston. He came from a family of preachers – several of whom fought for civil rights, according to published reports.
He was ordained at 18. He served as a pastor at Youngs Chapel AME Church in Irmo, Jericho and Porter’s Chapel AME Churches in Beaufort, Mount Horr AME Church in Yonges Island and Campbell Chapel AME Church in Bluffton.
He started working at Emanuel AME in 2010.
Pinckney also became a politician at a young age.
He has elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 at age 23 after serving as a page in the State House. After serving two terms, he won a seat in the Senate in 2000 at age 27.
Pinckney said his youth was an advantage.
“I’m not set in my ways and not set in old ways,” he told The (Charleston) Post and Courier in 2001. “Just like slavery needed to die out, old ideas need to die out. Being young allows me to be open-minded.”
Pinckney was a member of the Senate’s finance, education, banking, corrections and medical affairs committees.
He told the Charleston paper that he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia’s Allen University in order to be able to better run his churches. He also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina.
He leaves a wife, Jennifer, and two young daughters, Eliana and Malana.
“I always felt God had called me to serve within the church because of what the church stands for,” Pinckney told The Post and Courier in 2010. “This has always been home.”
S.C. Legislative Black Caucus on death on Sen. Pinckney
“It is with heavy hearts that we, (the) S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, mourn the death of our colleague Sen. Clementa Pinckney. His life and the lives of eight others were taken in an act of domestic terrorism. The horrific events of last evening may have shaken our resolve but we are standing strong. We have lost a mighty statesman and man of God who will long be remembered for this integrity and servant nature.
“Sen. Pinckney was a servant leader who used his life to demonstrate his passion and love for his God and his community. A man of grand stature in appearance and spirit, Sen. Pinckney was a voice of reason for those ... he served. Since his time in the Legislature, Sen. Pinckney has brought positive change to not only the lives (of) the residents of Jasper County, but also to the lives of everyone he touched.
“Our prayers and love go out to his wife Jennifer and two children Eiliana and Malana and family members. We also pray for the families of the other eight victims, the community as well as the entire Mother Emanuel AME Church family.”
http://panopticonreview.blogspot.com/…/a-tribute-to-late-am…
(All thinking people
oppose terrorism
both domestic
& international…
But one should not
be used
to cover the other)
They say it’s some terrorist, some--Excerpted from the poem "Somebody Blew Up America" by Amiri Baraka (1934-2014)--October, 2001
barbaric
A Rab, in
Afghanistan
It wasn't our American terrorists
It wasn't the Klan or the Skin heads
Or the them that blows up nigger
Churches, or reincarnates us on Death Row
It wasn't Trent Lott
Or David Duke or Giuliani
Or Schundler, Helms retiring
It wasn't
the gonorrhea in costume
the white sheet diseases
That have murdered black people
Terrorized reason and sanity
Most of humanity, as they pleases....
...Who made Bush president
Who believe the confederate flag need to be flying
Who talk about democracy and be lying
WHO/ WHO/ WHOWHO/
http://www.theatlantic.com/…/take-down-the-confeder…/396290/
Politics
Take Down the Confederate Flag—Now
The flag that Dylann Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, endorses the violence he committed.
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
June 18, 2015
The Atlantic
Chris Keane / Reuters
Last night, Dylann Roof walked into a Charleston church, sat for an hour, and then killed nine people. Roof’s crime cannot be divorced from the ideology of white supremacy which long animated his state nor from its potent symbol—the Confederate flag. Visitors to Charleston have long been treated to South Carolina’s attempt to clean its history and depict its secession as something other than a war to guarantee the enslavement of the majority of its residents. This notion is belied by any serious interrogation of the Civil War and the primary documents of its instigators. Yet the Confederate battle flag—the flag of Dylann Roof—still flies on the Capitol grounds in Columbia.
The Confederate flag’s defenders often claim it represents “heritage not hate.” I agree—the heritage of White Supremacy was not so much birthed by hate as by the impulse toward plunder. Dylann Roof plundered nine different bodies last night, plundered nine different families of an original member, plundered nine different communities of a singular member. An entire people are poorer for his action. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this act—it endorses it. That the Confederate flag is the symbol of of white supremacists is evidenced by the very words of those who birthed it:
"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth..."
This moral truth—“that the negro is not equal to the white man”—is exactly what animated Dylann Roof. More than any individual actor, in recent history, Roof honored his flag in exactly the manner it always demanded—with human sacrifice.
Surely the flag’s defenders will proffer other, muddier, interpretations which allow them the luxury of looking away. In this way they honor their ancestors. Cowardice, too, is heritage. When white supremacist John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago, Booth’s fellow travelers did all they could to disassociate themselves. “Our disgust for the dastardly wretch can scarcely be uttered,” fumed a former governor of South Carolina, the state where secession began. Robert E. Lee’s armies took special care to enslave free blacks during their Northern campaign. But Lee claimed the assassination of the Great Emancipator was “deplorable.” Jefferson Davis believed that “it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the South,” and angrily denied rumors that he had greeted the news with exultation.
Villain though he was, Booth was a man who understood the logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric:
"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN":
Right or wrong. God judge me, not man. For be my motive good or bad, of one thing I am sure, the lasting condemnation of the North.
I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expression. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark clouds to break, and for a restoration of our former sunshine. To wait longer would be a crime. All hope for peace is dead. My prayers have proved as idle as my hopes. God's will be done. I go to see and share the bitter end….
I have ever held the South were right. The very nomination of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, four years ago, spoke plainly, war—war upon Southern rights and institutions….
This country was formed for the white, not for the black man. And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution. I for one, have ever considered if one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation. Witness heretofore our wealth and power; witness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. I have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. Yet, Heaven knows, no one would be willing to do more for the negro race than I, could I but see a way to still better their condition.
By 1865, the Civil War had morphed into a war against slavery—the “cornerstone” of Confederate society. Booth absorbed his lesson too well. He did not violate some implicit rule of Confederate chivalry or politesse. He accurately interpreted the cause of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, men who were too weak to truthfully address that cause’s natural end.
Moral cowardice requires choice and action. It demands that its adherents repeatedly look away, that they favor the fanciful over the plain, myth over history, the dream over the real. Here is another choice.
Take down the flag. Take it down now.
Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. Move forward. Abandon this charlatanism. Drive out this cult of death and chains. Save your lovely souls. Move forward. Do it now.
All,
If President Obama doesn’t attend the funeral of the victims of this massacre and at the very least speak forcefully before the entire nation about the heinous evil of white supremacy in the U.S. he is nothing but a completely useless coward...
Kofi
All,
DON’T FORGET THAT THE CONFEDERATE FLAG STILL FLIES ALONGSIDE THE AMERICAN FLAG OVER EVERY SINGLE STATE AND FEDERAL BUILDING IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?…
Kofi
BELOW: Dylann Storm Roof wearing a jacket with the flags of apartheid-era
South Africa, top, and Rhodesia, as modern-day Zimbabwe was called
during a period of white rule. Credit Berkeley County, via European
Pressphoto Agency
http://www.thenation.com/article/the-charleston-massacre-and-the-cunning-of-white-supremacy/
Race and Ethnicity
Charleston Shooting
The Charleston Massacre and the Cunning of White Supremacy
He didn’t just target Denmark Vesey’s church—it was the anniversary of Vesey’s suppressed uprising.
by Greg Grandin
June 18, 2015
The Nation
A prayer circle gathers early Thursday, June 18, 2015, down the street from Emanuel AME Church following Wednesday night's shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
According to Matt Ford at The Atlantic, the Charleston, South Carolina, church where a white gunman murdered nine people was ccording to Matt Ford at The Atlantic, the Charleston, South Carolina, church where a white gunman murdered nine people was
The oldest black church south of Baltimore, and one of the most storied black congregations in the United States, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church’s history is deeply intertwined with the history of African American life in Charleston. Among the congregation’s founders was Denmark Vesey, a former slave who was executed in 1822 for attempting to organize a massive slave revolt in antebellum South Carolina. White South Carolinians burned the church to the ground in response to the thwarted uprising; along with other black churches, it was shuttered by the city in 1834. The church reorganized in 1865, and soon acquired a new building designed by Robert Vesey, Denmark’s son; the current building was constructed in 1891. It has continued to play a leading role in the struggle for civil rights.
Denmark Vesey is one of the most prominent names in America’s long history of racial terror. And the killer didn’t choose just Vesey’s church but his anniversary. Based on fragmentary evidence, white Charlestonians in 1822 came to believe that Vesey’s revolt “would begin at the stroke of midnight as Sunday, June 16, turned to Monday, June 17.” And they identified Vesey’s church as the center of the conspiracy.
White militia began to arrest both freemen and slaves, 10 that weekend, and many more in the days that followed. Vesey, a freeman, was captured on June 22. It’s not just the executors of the “war on terror” who have used euphemisms to describe torture. A Charleston official referred to the interrogations the captured men were subject to like this: “No means which experience or ingenuity could devise were left unessayed to eviscerate the plot.”
Then, after a quick trial and guilty verdict, Vesey and five others were hung on July 2. More arrests were made, and more executions followed, 35 in total, often in front of immense crowds.
Here’s the historian Ira Berlin, summing up what is known of Vesey’s life:
"It is a story well worth the telling. One of millions of young Africans sold into the Atlantic slave marts in the 18th century, the young Telemaque—later transmuted into Denmark—was plucked from a cargo of some 400 slaves by Captain Vesey, who was taken by his ”beauty, alertness and intelligence.” Vesey assigned the lad to his cabin, taught him to read and write, and allowed him to learn a trade—and much else.… The Veseys, both the captain and his slave, eventually alighted in the city of Charleston, mainland North America’s largest slave port. There, Captain Vesey retired to a comfortable respectability, supported in part by the earnings of his slave, who was permitted to hire himself out on his own.… While Denmark Vesey crossed the line from slavery to freedom, he did not…affiliate with Charleston’s growing community of free people of color. These artisans and tradesmen, with light skins that betrayed their mixed racial origins, aspired to the privileges of the master class, whose deportment, speech and values—including slave ownership—they emulated. Rather than being satisfied with a pale imitation of freedom, Vesey became increasingly discontented. In the back alley groggeries and weekly Bible classes, he denounced slavery as criminal usurpation, citing the Scriptures, the Declaration of Independence and even Congressional debates. He sneered at those who accepted bondage and deferred to whites, declaring that they deserved to be slaves. The angry old man awed even those he did not intimidate. Vesey believed slavery would only end with fire, and understood that a successful insurrection rested upon uniting the fragmented black population. While he may have dismissed the assimilationist-minded free people of color, he believed the other elements of the black community could be brought together. To those taken with Christianity, he quoted the Bible. To those mindful of power, he spoke of armies of Haitian soldiers in waiting. To those fearful of the spirit world, he enlisted one Jack Pritchard—universally known as Gullah Jack—a wizened, bewhiskered conjurer whose knowledge of African religious practices made him a welcome figure on the plantations that surrounded Charleston. And while he drew followers from the slave quarter and the artisans’ shops, he also enlisted from the master’s household, recruiting even the personal servant of South Carolina’s governor. Vesey coaxed and cajoled, implored and exhorted, flattered and bullied until his scheme was in place."
Berlin writes that “while slaveholders sent Denmark Vesey to the gallows and committed him to an unmarked grave, they failed to consign him to historical oblivion.… Former slaves preserved his memory, even as former slaveholders denied it. Today it seems clear that Denmark Vesey will not remain buried much longer.”
Maybe others remembered him as well, though it might just be a coincidence that “the clean-shaven white man about 21 years old with sandy blond hair and wearing a gray sweatshirt, bluejeans and Timberland boots” chose the anniversary of Vesey’s preempted revolt to massacre nine members of the congregation Vesey founded.
Or maybe history, along with white supremacy, is just cunning that way.
Greg Grandin teaches history at New York University and is the author of the forthcoming Kissinger’s Shadow.
FURTHER NEWS UPDATES ON CHARLESTON CHURCH MASSACRE:
http://www.slate.com/…/charleston_mass_shooting_suspect_in_…
Dylann Roof’s Roommate Says Roof Had Been Planning an Attack for Months
By Ben Mathis-Lilley and Elliot Hannon
June 18, 2015
SLATE
Update, 8:45 p.m.: Dalton Tyler, the roommate of Dylann Roof, told ABC News that Roof had been planning an attack like the one he carried out in Charleston for months. Roof had been “planning something like that for six months,” Tyler told ABC News. “He said he wanted to start a civil war. He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself.”
Update, 4:30 p.m.: South Carolina authorities have released the names of the eight men and women killed in Wednesday's attack along with Rev. Clementa Pinckney, whose death had already been reported. Among the dead are three other ministers, a 70-year-old grandmother who had worked at the Emanuel AME Church for 30 years, a librarian, and an 87-year-old woman.
Suspect Dylann Roof's apprehension Thursday morning in North Carolina reportedly occurred after a florist driving to work recognized Roof and his car from news photos.
Update, 12:40 p.m.: President Obama, speaking at the White House, eulogized the victims of Wednesday's massacre—and called on the country to acknowledge and address its epidemic of mass murders committed with firearms. Video:
From the president's remarks:
"Any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy. There's something particularly heartbreaking about a death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace. In a place of worship. Mother Emanuel is in fact more than a church. This is a place of worship that was founded by African-Americans seeking liberty. This is a church that was burned to the ground because its worshippers worked to end slavery. When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings they conducted services in secret. When there was a non-violent movement to bring our country in line with our highest ideals, some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church's steps. This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.
The FBI is now on the scene with local police, and more of the Bureau's best are on the way to join them. The attorney general has announced plans for the FBI to open a hate crime investigation. We understand that the suspect is in custody, and I'll let the best of law enforcement do its work to make sure that justice is served. Until the investigation is complete I'm necessarily constrained in terms of talking about details of the case.
But I don't need to be constrained about the emotions that tragedies like this raise. I've had to make statements like this too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. We don't have all the facts but we do know that once again innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. Now is the time for mourning and for healing. But let's be clear. At some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it. I say that recognizing that the politics in this town foreclose a lot of those avenues right now. But it'd be wrong for us not to acknowledge it. And at some point it's going to be important for the American people to come to grips with it."
Update, 12:00 p.m.: Roof was caught during a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina, authorities say, and was reportedly armed with handgun when arrested in a black Hyundai.
A classmate of Roof's told the Daily Beast that Roof "had that kind of Southern pride" and "made a lot of racist jokes."
Update, 11:25 a.m.: Dylann Roof has been apprehended in North Carolina, multiple outlets report, apparently in the Charlotte area. Charlotte is approximately 200 miles from Charleston.
screen_shot_20150618_at_10.54.03_am
Dylann Roof. The flags on Roof's jacket are from the colonialist African state of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and apartheid-era South Africa.
Photo via Dylann Roof/Facebook
Update, 10:15 a.m.: Authorities have identified the suspect in the shooting as Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old from Eastover, South Carolina, which is approximately 100 miles from Charleston. Roof appears to have been arrested at least once on drug charges. WISTV reports that he may be driving "a black Hyundai Elantra with South Carolina tag LGF-330." According to Reuters, Roof's uncle says Roof received a .45 caliber pistol as a birthday present in April.
Original post, 7:58 a.m. The white gunman who reportedly killed nine people and injured at least one other at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina Wednesday night is still at large.* Police have called the incident a hate crime and say the suspect spent approximately an hour at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church's Bible-study meeting before opening fire.
One of the reported victims of the attack was Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the church's pastor and a South Carolina state senator. The names of the victims have not been officially released pending notification of their families.
The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1816. The church's building was burned down in retaliation against a planned slave revolt in 1822, destroyed in an 1886 earthquake and rebuilt in 1891.
*Correction, 10:15 a.m.: This post originally misstated that three people had been reported injured but not killed in the shooting. At this point one person is known to have been injured but not killed.
Ben Mathis-Lilley edits the Slatest. Follow @Slatest on Twitter.
Elliot Hannon is a writer in New York City. Follow him on Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/…/us/charleston-church-shooting.html…
U.S.
Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Is Captured
By JASON HOROWITZ, NICK CORASANITI and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
JUNE 18, 2015
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Law enforcement officers have captured the man suspected of killing nine people at a prayer meeting at a historic black church in this city’s downtown area, the mayor of Charleston said Thursday.
Mayor Joseph P. Riley would not say where the suspect, Dylann Storm, Roof, 21, was caught, but media reports say it was some 200 miles away, in Shelby, N.C., a town east of Charlotte.
The police here have said Mr. Roof, of the Columbia area, is thewhite gunman who walked into a prayer meeting, sat down with black parishioners for nearly an hour, and then opened fire — a burst of violence that officials described as racially motivated.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the F.B.I., and the United States Attorney’s Office for South Carolina opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting, parallel to the state and local investigation, a department official said. Charleston’s police chief, Greg Mullen, called the shooting, which left six women and three men dead, a hate crime.
Charleston police released a photograph taken from surveillance footage of Mr. Roof, who is believed to be the gunman. Credit Charleston Police Department, via Reuters
Mr. Roof’s Facebook profile picture shows him wearing a jacket decorated with the flags of two former white supremacist regimes, in apartheid-era South Africa and in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
The gunman walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after 8 p.m., and the first call to police came shortly after 9 p.m. Among the dead was the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, pastor of the church, who was also a state senator.
Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of Mr. Pinckney, told NBC News that she had spoken with a survivor of the shooting who told her the gunman reloaded five times. The survivor, she said, told her that the gunman had entered the church and asked for the pastor. Then he sat next to Mr. Pinckney during the Bible study before opening fire.
“I have to do it,” the gunman was quoted as saying. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
RELATED COVERAGE
17m
Attorney General Loretta Lynch: A “Heartbreaking Event”
20m
Dylann Roof Is Reported Caught
21m
Suspect’s ‘Selfie’ Shows Flags of White Supremacist Regimes
See All Updates
Calling the shooting the work of “a hateful and deranged mind,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said it was hard to imagine churchgoers at “a prayer service and a Bible service, and they’re speaking about the Holy Scriptures and praying,” while someone is “sitting there contemplating the act of murder.”
Eight people died at the scene, Chief Mullen said. One person died on the way to the Medical University of South Carolina.
The police released pictures from surveillance footage of the man who is believed to be the gunman, and the police said he had been seen leaving the church in a black, four-door sedan that was also captured on video.
“We are leaving no stone unturned,” Chief Mullen said. He would not say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
A prayer vigil near the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church early Thursday. Credit David Goldman/Associated Press
City officials did not release information about the victims and did not say how many people were in the church during the shooting. Hospital officials declined to comment, but family and friends were being directed to an assistance center near the church
Mr. Pinckney’s sister was also among those killed, said J. Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the State House of Representatives.
Mr. Rutherford, who had served in the State Legislature with Mr. Pinckney, 41, since 1998, recalled him as a tireless leader with a booming voice and a mission to serve.
“He was called to the ministry when he was 13, ordained at 18, elected to the House at 23 and the Senate at 27,” Mr. Rutherford said. “He was a man driven by public service.”
State Senator Lawrence K. Grooms said Mr. Pinckney had had “a voice you could pick out of a crowd, a booming voice.”
“He was my friend, he was my colleague, but he was also my brother in Christ,” said Senator Grooms, who drove down from the Statehouse as soon as he heard the news last night.
In a statement, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., Cornell William Brooks, said, “There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture.”
Why identify him as "white"? When madmen of other colors also commit despicable crimes their color is not mentioned. Since you show the...
Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina asked the state’s residents to pray for the victims and their families. “We’ll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another,” she said in a statement.
Video
Charleston Chief on Church Killings
Greg Mullen, the police chief of Charleston, S.C., says that a shooting on Wednesday at a historic African-American church that left nine dead was “unfathomable.” By Reuters on Publish Date June 18, 2015. Photo by David Goldman/Associated Press.
In the first hours after the shooting, the police blocked reporters and passers-by from approaching the church, opposite a Marriott Courtyard hotel, because of a bomb threat. Many among the news media cluster were political reporters in town to cover campaign events of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush.
Helicopters with searchlights circled overhead, and a group of pastors knelt and prayed across the street.
“The question is, ‘Why God?’ ” a man wearing a shirt bearing the name of the Empowerment Missionary Baptist Church said during the prayer.
The church is one of the nation’s oldest black congregations. The Gothic Revival building dates from 1891 and is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park =
A man knelt across the street outside the Emanuel A.M.E. Church after a shooting on Wednesday in Charleston, S.C. Credit Wade Spees/The Post and Courier, via Associated Press
The congregation was formed by black members of Charleston’s Methodist Episcopal Church who broke away “over disputed burial ground,” according to the website of the National Park Service.
In 1822, one of the church’s co-founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to foment a slave rebellion in Charleston, the church’s website says. The plot was foiled by the authorities and 35 people were executed, including Mr. Vesey.
The church houses the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore, the National Park Service said.
Late Wednesday, the campaign staff of Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, said he was canceling appearances planned for Thursday in Charleston because of the shooting. Mrs. Clinton was in Charleston on Wednesday, but an aide said she had left the city before the shooting.
Bakari Sellers, a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, said he had been at a fund-raiser Mrs. Clinton attended in the early evening when he heard about the shooting only blocks away. He said the mood among the attendees, several of whom knew the church and its pastor well, quickly turned from hope to “darkness and despair.”
Correction: June 18, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated the status of Bakari Sellers in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He is a former member, not a current one.
Jason Horowitz and Nick Corasaniti reported from Charleston, and Richard Pérez-Peña from New York. Ashley Southall and Penn Bullock contributed reporting from New York.
Dylann Storm Roof wearing a jacket with the flags of apartheid-era South Africa, top, and Rhodesia, as modern-day Zimbabwe was called during a period of white rule. Credit Berkeley County, via European Pressphoto Agency
U.S.
Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Is Captured
By JASON HOROWITZ, NICK CORASANITI and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
JUNE 18, 2015
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Law enforcement officers have captured the man suspected of killing nine people at a prayer meeting at a historic black church in this city’s downtown area, the mayor of Charleston said Thursday.
Mayor Joseph P. Riley would not say where the suspect, Dylann Storm, Roof, 21, was caught, but media reports say it was some 200 miles away, in Shelby, N.C., a town east of Charlotte.
The police here have said Mr. Roof, of the Columbia area, is thewhite gunman who walked into a prayer meeting, sat down with black parishioners for nearly an hour, and then opened fire — a burst of violence that officials described as racially motivated.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the F.B.I., and the United States Attorney’s Office for South Carolina opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting, parallel to the state and local investigation, a department official said. Charleston’s police chief, Greg Mullen, called the shooting, which left six women and three men dead, a hate crime.
Charleston police released a photograph taken from surveillance footage of Mr. Roof, who is believed to be the gunman. Credit Charleston Police Department, via Reuters
Mr. Roof’s Facebook profile picture shows him wearing a jacket decorated with the flags of two former white supremacist regimes, in apartheid-era South Africa and in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
The gunman walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after 8 p.m., and the first call to police came shortly after 9 p.m. Among the dead was the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, pastor of the church, who was also a state senator.
Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of Mr. Pinckney, told NBC News that she had spoken with a survivor of the shooting who told her the gunman reloaded five times. The survivor, she said, told her that the gunman had entered the church and asked for the pastor. Then he sat next to Mr. Pinckney during the Bible study before opening fire.
“I have to do it,” the gunman was quoted as saying. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
RELATED COVERAGE
17m
Attorney General Loretta Lynch: A “Heartbreaking Event”
20m
Dylann Roof Is Reported Caught
21m
Suspect’s ‘Selfie’ Shows Flags of White Supremacist Regimes
See All Updates
Calling the shooting the work of “a hateful and deranged mind,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said it was hard to imagine churchgoers at “a prayer service and a Bible service, and they’re speaking about the Holy Scriptures and praying,” while someone is “sitting there contemplating the act of murder.”
Eight people died at the scene, Chief Mullen said. One person died on the way to the Medical University of South Carolina.
The police released pictures from surveillance footage of the man who is believed to be the gunman, and the police said he had been seen leaving the church in a black, four-door sedan that was also captured on video.
“We are leaving no stone unturned,” Chief Mullen said. He would not say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
A prayer vigil near the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church early Thursday. Credit David Goldman/Associated Press
City officials did not release information about the victims and did not say how many people were in the church during the shooting. Hospital officials declined to comment, but family and friends were being directed to an assistance center near the church
Mr. Pinckney’s sister was also among those killed, said J. Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the State House of Representatives.
Mr. Rutherford, who had served in the State Legislature with Mr. Pinckney, 41, since 1998, recalled him as a tireless leader with a booming voice and a mission to serve.
“He was called to the ministry when he was 13, ordained at 18, elected to the House at 23 and the Senate at 27,” Mr. Rutherford said. “He was a man driven by public service.”
State Senator Lawrence K. Grooms said Mr. Pinckney had had “a voice you could pick out of a crowd, a booming voice.”
“He was my friend, he was my colleague, but he was also my brother in Christ,” said Senator Grooms, who drove down from the Statehouse as soon as he heard the news last night.
In a statement, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., Cornell William Brooks, said, “There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture.”
Why identify him as "white"? When madmen of other colors also commit despicable crimes their color is not mentioned. Since you show the...
Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina asked the state’s residents to pray for the victims and their families. “We’ll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another,” she said in a statement.
Video
Charleston Chief on Church Killings
Greg Mullen, the police chief of Charleston, S.C., says that a shooting on Wednesday at a historic African-American church that left nine dead was “unfathomable.” By Reuters on Publish Date June 18, 2015. Photo by David Goldman/Associated Press.
In the first hours after the shooting, the police blocked reporters and passers-by from approaching the church, opposite a Marriott Courtyard hotel, because of a bomb threat. Many among the news media cluster were political reporters in town to cover campaign events of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush.
Helicopters with searchlights circled overhead, and a group of pastors knelt and prayed across the street.
“The question is, ‘Why God?’ ” a man wearing a shirt bearing the name of the Empowerment Missionary Baptist Church said during the prayer.
The church is one of the nation’s oldest black congregations. The Gothic Revival building dates from 1891 and is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park =
A man knelt across the street outside the Emanuel A.M.E. Church after a shooting on Wednesday in Charleston, S.C. Credit Wade Spees/The Post and Courier, via Associated Press
The congregation was formed by black members of Charleston’s Methodist Episcopal Church who broke away “over disputed burial ground,” according to the website of the National Park Service.
In 1822, one of the church’s co-founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to foment a slave rebellion in Charleston, the church’s website says. The plot was foiled by the authorities and 35 people were executed, including Mr. Vesey.
The church houses the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore, the National Park Service said.
Late Wednesday, the campaign staff of Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, said he was canceling appearances planned for Thursday in Charleston because of the shooting. Mrs. Clinton was in Charleston on Wednesday, but an aide said she had left the city before the shooting.
Bakari Sellers, a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, said he had been at a fund-raiser Mrs. Clinton attended in the early evening when he heard about the shooting only blocks away. He said the mood among the attendees, several of whom knew the church and its pastor well, quickly turned from hope to “darkness and despair.”
Correction: June 18, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated the status of Bakari Sellers in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He is a former member, not a current one.
Jason Horowitz and Nick Corasaniti reported from Charleston, and Richard Pérez-Peña from New York. Ashley Southall and Penn Bullock contributed reporting from New York.
Dylann Storm Roof wearing a jacket with the flags of apartheid-era South Africa, top, and Rhodesia, as modern-day Zimbabwe was called during a period of white rule. Credit Berkeley County, via European Pressphoto Agency
http://myfox8.com/…/captured-charleston-church-shooting-su…/
CAPTURED: Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof has been caught in Shelby, NC
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dylan Storm Roof, the 21-year-old man who police say walked into a South Carolina church and fatally shot nine people as they attended Bible study class, was arrested in Shelby, N.C., on Thursday.
According to WLTX, Roof was arrested in Shelby on Thursday. Multiple sources are also reporting Roof has been arrested.
A senior law enforcement official confirmed to CNN the suspect has been taken into custody in North Carolina.
No other information is available at this time.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dylan Storm Roof, the 21-year-old man who police say walked into a South Carolina church and fatally shot nine people as they attended Bible study class, was arrested in Shelby, N.C., on Thursday.
According to WLTX, Roof was arrested in Shelby on Thursday. Multiple sources are also reporting Roof has been arrested.
A senior law enforcement official confirmed to CNN the suspect has been taken into custody in North Carolina.
No other information is available at this time.
http://www.people.com/…/shooting-charleston-south-carolina-…
Charleston Terror Suspect ID'd:
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, Named in 'Hate Crime' Church Massacre that Killed 9
by K.C. Blumm and Kathy Ehrich Dowd
JUNE 18, 2015
PEOPLE
The alleged shooter who opened fire and killed nine people at a
historical black church in Charleston on Wednesday, in what officials
have called a hate crime, has been identified.
The suspected gunman is named Dylann Storm Roof, 21, the FBI and Charleston Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE on Thursday.
"I don't know anything about the guy. Never heard of him before this morning," Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis tells PEOPLE.
A massive manhunt is now underway for Roof, who is believed to have sat alongside his victims for about an hour during a Bible study class inside the Emanuel AME Church before opening fire on the parishioners, authorities said Thursday.
Police are appealing to the public for help in locating the shooter and released a flier with basic information on the young man:
"The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5'9" 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen."
Charleston Terror Suspect ID'd: Dylann Storm Roof, 21, Named in 'Hate Crime' Church Massacre that Killed 9| Crime & Courts, True Crime
First photos of suspect and vehicle involved in Charleston shooting
David Goldman / AP
An uncle of Roof's told Reuters he recognized his nephew in a surveillance photo.
"The more I look at him, the more I'm convinced, that's him," Carson Cowles, 56, told the news outlet.
Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen said that anyone who sees the suspect or the vehicle should immediately call law enforcement: "This is a very dangerous individual and we do not want more people harmed trying to approach him or follow the vehicle if they see it."
Mayor Joseph P. Riley said, "This is what we can do: We can catch this no good, horrible person to see that he pays the price."
RELATED VIDEO: Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Identified by FBI
Among the three male and six females killed in the massacre that took place was state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney, who traveled to the AME church for a budget meeting before the attack occurred.
South Carolina State Senator Marlon Kimpson said in a CNN interview, "When I learned of the shooting … I immediately called Senator Pinckney but there was no answer."
He then went to the victim assistance unit in the area where he had "a brief conversation with his wife and his two daughters."
"We are asking the nation and the city of Charleston for prayer for the victims of this tragedy," Kimpson said.
The suspect fired the shots around 9 p.m. Eight were pronounced dead on the scene, while another died at the hospital. Another victim remains hospitalized with injuries.
Mullen told reporters that his department, along with the FBI, "will put all of our energy into finding this individual."
"We are committed to do whatever is necessary to bring this individual to justice," Mullen said. "We are not leaving any stone unturned."
At the time of the shooting, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was about an hour away hosting an event. Jeb Bush was also expected to make an appearance in the city but has since canceled, CNN reported.
The incident comes just months after another racially charged tragedy occurred in Charleston, the death of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man shot in the back by a police officer in April. The scene was caught on camera and sparked national outrage.
The officer involved, Michael Slager, was indicted on murder charges June 8.
Charleston Terror Suspect ID'd:
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, Named in 'Hate Crime' Church Massacre that Killed 9
by K.C. Blumm and Kathy Ehrich Dowd
JUNE 18, 2015
PEOPLE
The suspected gunman is named Dylann Storm Roof, 21, the FBI and Charleston Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE on Thursday.
"I don't know anything about the guy. Never heard of him before this morning," Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis tells PEOPLE.
A massive manhunt is now underway for Roof, who is believed to have sat alongside his victims for about an hour during a Bible study class inside the Emanuel AME Church before opening fire on the parishioners, authorities said Thursday.
Police are appealing to the public for help in locating the shooter and released a flier with basic information on the young man:
"The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5'9" 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen."
Charleston Terror Suspect ID'd: Dylann Storm Roof, 21, Named in 'Hate Crime' Church Massacre that Killed 9| Crime & Courts, True Crime
First photos of suspect and vehicle involved in Charleston shooting
David Goldman / AP
An uncle of Roof's told Reuters he recognized his nephew in a surveillance photo.
"The more I look at him, the more I'm convinced, that's him," Carson Cowles, 56, told the news outlet.
Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen said that anyone who sees the suspect or the vehicle should immediately call law enforcement: "This is a very dangerous individual and we do not want more people harmed trying to approach him or follow the vehicle if they see it."
Mayor Joseph P. Riley said, "This is what we can do: We can catch this no good, horrible person to see that he pays the price."
RELATED VIDEO: Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Identified by FBI
Among the three male and six females killed in the massacre that took place was state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney, who traveled to the AME church for a budget meeting before the attack occurred.
South Carolina State Senator Marlon Kimpson said in a CNN interview, "When I learned of the shooting … I immediately called Senator Pinckney but there was no answer."
He then went to the victim assistance unit in the area where he had "a brief conversation with his wife and his two daughters."
"We are asking the nation and the city of Charleston for prayer for the victims of this tragedy," Kimpson said.
The suspect fired the shots around 9 p.m. Eight were pronounced dead on the scene, while another died at the hospital. Another victim remains hospitalized with injuries.
Mullen told reporters that his department, along with the FBI, "will put all of our energy into finding this individual."
"We are committed to do whatever is necessary to bring this individual to justice," Mullen said. "We are not leaving any stone unturned."
At the time of the shooting, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was about an hour away hosting an event. Jeb Bush was also expected to make an appearance in the city but has since canceled, CNN reported.
The incident comes just months after another racially charged tragedy occurred in Charleston, the death of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man shot in the back by a police officer in April. The scene was caught on camera and sparked national outrage.
The officer involved, Michael Slager, was indicted on murder charges June 8.
All,
This racist mass murdering creep has not been caught and is STILL AT LARGE...
Kofi
This racist mass murdering creep has not been caught and is STILL AT LARGE...
Kofi
http://fox4kc.com/2015/06/18/dylann-storm-roof-police-name-suspect-in-charleston-church-shooting/
Dylann Storm Roof: Police name suspect in Charleston church shooting
June 18, 2015
FOX 4 NEWS
DYLAN STORM ROOF
CHARLESTON, S.C. — He’s white, slightly built and in his early 20s — and police say he walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church and fatally shot nine people as they attended Bible study class.
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is now at the center of a major manhunt.
Police released a flier Thursday morning with details of the suspect in the attack on the historic African-American church as they appealed for help to track him down as quickly as possible.
“The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5’9″ 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen. “
Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen told a news conference that officers “have obtained surveillance videos of the suspect in this case and a suspect vehicle.”
Mullen said the suspect was a “younger white male between 21 and 25 years of age, 5-foot-9 in height” and “has a very distinctive sweatshirt that has markings.”
Mullen emphasized the suspect is “a very dangerous individual” and said “he should not be approached by anyone.”
Any people who recognize the suspect or spots the vehicle should alert law enforcement, he said, rather than trying to follow themselves.
Woman spared by shooter to give account?
A female survivor told family members that the gunman told her he was letting her live to tell everyone else what happened, Dot Scott, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told CNN.
Scott said she had not spoken to the survivor directly but had heard this account repeated at least a dozen times as she met with relatives of the victims Wednesday night. Scott added that she didn’t know if the survivor had ended up at the hospital or being questioned by police.
Because of the church’s historic significance, it is not unusual for visitors, whether white or black, to visit it, Scott said. She said she’d had no indication that any children were among the victims.
Mullen told the news conference the suspect had been in the church attending a meeting that was going on — and “stayed there almost an hour with the group before the actual event.”
But he declined to comment on whether the suspect had let one woman escape.
‘Distinctive’ license plate
The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black four-door sedan, the flier says. “The vehicle you will see has a very distinctive front license plate,” Mullen added.
He appealed for the media to help in circulating the suspect’s image and for the public to be vigilant. The clean-shaven man pictured wears a gray sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.
“No one in this community will ever forget this night and as a result of this and because of the pain and the hurt this individual has caused this entire community, the law enforcement agents are committed and we will catch this individual,” Mullen said.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley echoed that sentiment, saying everything must be done to find a culprit he described as “somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind.”
The man is a “no-good, horrible person” who must be taken into custody as soon as possible, he said. “Of course we will make sure he pays the price for this horrible act.”
Wednesday night’s attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is being investigated as a hate crime. All the victims, who include the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, were black. Six of those killed were female and three male.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — He’s white, slightly built and in his early 20s — and police say he walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church and fatally shot nine people as they attended Bible study class.
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is now at the center of a major manhunt.
Police released a flier Thursday morning with details of the suspect in the attack on the historic African-American church as they appealed for help to track him down as quickly as possible.
“The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5’9″ 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen. “
Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen told a news conference that officers “have obtained surveillance videos of the suspect in this case and a suspect vehicle.”
Mullen said the suspect was a “younger white male between 21 and 25 years of age, 5-foot-9 in height” and “has a very distinctive sweatshirt that has markings.”
Mullen emphasized the suspect is “a very dangerous individual” and said “he should not be approached by anyone.”
Any people who recognize the suspect or spots the vehicle should alert law enforcement, he said, rather than trying to follow themselves.
Woman spared by shooter to give account?
A female survivor told family members that the gunman told her he was letting her live to tell everyone else what happened, Dot Scott, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told CNN.
Scott said she had not spoken to the survivor directly but had heard this account repeated at least a dozen times as she met with relatives of the victims Wednesday night. Scott added that she didn’t know if the survivor had ended up at the hospital or being questioned by police.
Because of the church’s historic significance, it is not unusual for visitors, whether white or black, to visit it, Scott said. She said she’d had no indication that any children were among the victims.
Mullen told the news conference the suspect had been in the church attending a meeting that was going on — and “stayed there almost an hour with the group before the actual event.”
But he declined to comment on whether the suspect had let one woman escape.
‘Distinctive’ license plate
The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black four-door sedan, the flier says. “The vehicle you will see has a very distinctive front license plate,” Mullen added.
He appealed for the media to help in circulating the suspect’s image and for the public to be vigilant. The clean-shaven man pictured wears a gray sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.
“No one in this community will ever forget this night and as a result of this and because of the pain and the hurt this individual has caused this entire community, the law enforcement agents are committed and we will catch this individual,” Mullen said.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley echoed that sentiment, saying everything must be done to find a culprit he described as “somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind.”
The man is a “no-good, horrible person” who must be taken into custody as soon as possible, he said. “Of course we will make sure he pays the price for this horrible act.”
Wednesday night’s attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is being investigated as a hate crime. All the victims, who include the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, were black. Six of those killed were female and three male.
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is now at the center of a major manhunt.
Police released a flier Thursday morning with details of the suspect in the attack on the historic African-American church as they appealed for help to track him down as quickly as possible.
“The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5’9″ 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen. “
Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen told a news conference that officers “have obtained surveillance videos of the suspect in this case and a suspect vehicle.”
Mullen said the suspect was a “younger white male between 21 and 25 years of age, 5-foot-9 in height” and “has a very distinctive sweatshirt that has markings.”
Mullen emphasized the suspect is “a very dangerous individual” and said “he should not be approached by anyone.”
Any people who recognize the suspect or spots the vehicle should alert law enforcement, he said, rather than trying to follow themselves.
Woman spared by shooter to give account?
A female survivor told family members that the gunman told her he was letting her live to tell everyone else what happened, Dot Scott, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told CNN.
Scott said she had not spoken to the survivor directly but had heard this account repeated at least a dozen times as she met with relatives of the victims Wednesday night. Scott added that she didn’t know if the survivor had ended up at the hospital or being questioned by police.
Because of the church’s historic significance, it is not unusual for visitors, whether white or black, to visit it, Scott said. She said she’d had no indication that any children were among the victims.
Mullen told the news conference the suspect had been in the church attending a meeting that was going on — and “stayed there almost an hour with the group before the actual event.”
But he declined to comment on whether the suspect had let one woman escape.
‘Distinctive’ license plate
The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black four-door sedan, the flier says. “The vehicle you will see has a very distinctive front license plate,” Mullen added.
He appealed for the media to help in circulating the suspect’s image and for the public to be vigilant. The clean-shaven man pictured wears a gray sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.
“No one in this community will ever forget this night and as a result of this and because of the pain and the hurt this individual has caused this entire community, the law enforcement agents are committed and we will catch this individual,” Mullen said.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley echoed that sentiment, saying everything must be done to find a culprit he described as “somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind.”
The man is a “no-good, horrible person” who must be taken into custody as soon as possible, he said. “Of course we will make sure he pays the price for this horrible act.”
Wednesday night’s attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is being investigated as a hate crime. All the victims, who include the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, were black. Six of those killed were female and three male.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — He’s white, slightly built and in his early 20s — and police say he walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church and fatally shot nine people as they attended Bible study class.
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is now at the center of a major manhunt.
Police released a flier Thursday morning with details of the suspect in the attack on the historic African-American church as they appealed for help to track him down as quickly as possible.
“The following subject is wanted for the shooting that occured in Charleston at the Emanuel AME Church. Subject is Dylann Storm Roof w/m 4/3/1994 5’9″ 120 lbs. The subject should be driving a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GS, SC registration LGF330. The vehicle is dark-colored. Subject should be considered armed and dangerous and caution should be used if seen. “
Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen told a news conference that officers “have obtained surveillance videos of the suspect in this case and a suspect vehicle.”
Mullen said the suspect was a “younger white male between 21 and 25 years of age, 5-foot-9 in height” and “has a very distinctive sweatshirt that has markings.”
Mullen emphasized the suspect is “a very dangerous individual” and said “he should not be approached by anyone.”
Any people who recognize the suspect or spots the vehicle should alert law enforcement, he said, rather than trying to follow themselves.
Woman spared by shooter to give account?
A female survivor told family members that the gunman told her he was letting her live to tell everyone else what happened, Dot Scott, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told CNN.
Scott said she had not spoken to the survivor directly but had heard this account repeated at least a dozen times as she met with relatives of the victims Wednesday night. Scott added that she didn’t know if the survivor had ended up at the hospital or being questioned by police.
Because of the church’s historic significance, it is not unusual for visitors, whether white or black, to visit it, Scott said. She said she’d had no indication that any children were among the victims.
Mullen told the news conference the suspect had been in the church attending a meeting that was going on — and “stayed there almost an hour with the group before the actual event.”
But he declined to comment on whether the suspect had let one woman escape.
‘Distinctive’ license plate
The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black four-door sedan, the flier says. “The vehicle you will see has a very distinctive front license plate,” Mullen added.
He appealed for the media to help in circulating the suspect’s image and for the public to be vigilant. The clean-shaven man pictured wears a gray sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.
“No one in this community will ever forget this night and as a result of this and because of the pain and the hurt this individual has caused this entire community, the law enforcement agents are committed and we will catch this individual,” Mullen said.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley echoed that sentiment, saying everything must be done to find a culprit he described as “somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind.”
The man is a “no-good, horrible person” who must be taken into custody as soon as possible, he said. “Of course we will make sure he pays the price for this horrible act.”
Wednesday night’s attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is being investigated as a hate crime. All the victims, who include the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, were black. Six of those killed were female and three male.
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/06/17/shooting-at-charleston-church-suspect-on-the-loose/28904227/Suspect Stayed in Church for an Hour Before Mass Killing
June 18, 2015
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WLTX, USA TODAY, AP) — A massive manhunt is underway for a suspect who killed nine people at a Charleston, SC AME church, a horror the police chief there is calling a hate crime.
Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said the shooting took place around 9 p.m. Wednesday at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was having a prayer service at the time of the tragedy.
In new information released mid-Thursday morning, Mullen said that the suspect actually arrived at the prayer meeting at 8 p.m., and spent approximately one hour with members of the church before opening fire.
Mullen updated his earlier statement, clarifying that eight people were found dead inside the church, while one victim was taken to a local hospital where that person later died. The victims are six females and three males, but Mullen would not clarify if any of them were minors.
Three people survived the attack.
Thursday morning, police released a surveillance image of the man. The image matches an earlier description of a slender, young man man with a small build and sandy blond hair. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Surveillance image of the suspect in the mass shooting in Charleston. (Photo: Charleston Police Department)
They also said he may be driving a black four-door sedan. Police consider him extremely dangerous, and say anyone who sees him should call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
WLTX NEWS
Surveillance Video of Suspect in Deadly Church Shooting Released
State Representative Todd Rutherford told the Associated Press that Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of the church, is among the dead. Pinckney was also a longtime senator in the South Carolina General Assembly. His sister also died in the killings.
WLTX NEWS
Reaction Swift to Tragedy in Charleston
June 18, 2015
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WLTX, USA TODAY, AP) — A massive manhunt is underway for a suspect who killed nine people at a Charleston, SC AME church, a horror the police chief there is calling a hate crime.
Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said the shooting took place around 9 p.m. Wednesday at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was having a prayer service at the time of the tragedy.
In new information released mid-Thursday morning, Mullen said that the suspect actually arrived at the prayer meeting at 8 p.m., and spent approximately one hour with members of the church before opening fire.
Mullen updated his earlier statement, clarifying that eight people were found dead inside the church, while one victim was taken to a local hospital where that person later died. The victims are six females and three males, but Mullen would not clarify if any of them were minors.
Three people survived the attack.
Thursday morning, police released a surveillance image of the man. The image matches an earlier description of a slender, young man man with a small build and sandy blond hair. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Surveillance image of the suspect in the mass shooting in Charleston. (Photo: Charleston Police Department)
They also said he may be driving a black four-door sedan. Police consider him extremely dangerous, and say anyone who sees him should call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
WLTX NEWS
Surveillance Video of Suspect in Deadly Church Shooting Released
State Representative Todd Rutherford told the Associated Press that Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of the church, is among the dead. Pinckney was also a longtime senator in the South Carolina General Assembly. His sister also died in the killings.
WLTX NEWS
Reaction Swift to Tragedy in Charleston
Pastor, State Senator Clementa Pickney Among the Dead in Mass Shooting
"This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience," Mullen said. "It is senseless, and it is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer service and take their lives."
While the exact motive for the crime is not known, because the shooter is white, and the victims were inside an African-American church, police are operating on the suspicion that this may be racially motivated.
"This will be investigated as a hate crime," Mullen said.
"'The only reason that people would walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate," said Riley. "It is the most dastardly act that one could imagine."
Local, state, and federal resources are being deployed to Charleston, and in Washington, the Justice Department said its Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina are opening a hate crime investigation into the shooting.
Both Mullen and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley vowed that the killer would be brought to justice swiftly, and say their energized to catch the person responsible.
"They take this personal," Mullen said. "They take somebody coming in to our city, going into a church, sitting down with people who are praying and exercising their religious beliefs and murdering them...we're going to keep pushing."
JR Berry reports on the fatal shooting in Charleston, SC. WLTX
Reaction to the tragedy, both in the state and nationwide, was swift.
"Michael, Rena, Nalin and I are praying for the victims and families touched by tonight's senseless tragedy at Emanuel AME Church," said Gov. Nikki Haley in a statement. "While we do not yet know all of the details, we do know that we'll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another. Please join us in lifting up the victims and their families with our love and prayers."
GOP Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush, who was set to appear in Charleston Thursday, has cancelled his events in the area because of the shooting.
The Emanuel AME church is a historic African-American church that traces its roots to 1816, when several churches split from Charleston's Methodist Episcopal church.
One of its founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to organize a slave revolt in 1822. He was caught, and white landowners had his church burned in revenge. Parishioners worshipped underground until after the Civil War.
A surveillance photo of the suspect in the shooting that occurred at the Emmanuel AME Church June 17 shown entering the building. (Photo: Police handout)
WLTX NEWS
About Emanuel A.M.E., the oldest A.M.E. church in the South
