According to CNN, a white gunman shot to death nine church members at a historic African-American church in Charleston on Wednesday, opening fire at the Church members who had gathered together for a Bible study and prayer session. Among the dead was the beloved pastor Clementa Pinckney, a longtime state senator who spent the earlier part of the day campaigning in the city with Hillary Clinton.
The gunman is currently at large early Thursday, and the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is being investigated as a hate crime. Police say they think he is still in the Charleston area. The suspect is in his early 20s and stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
“He has on a very distinctive sweatshirt as well as the vehicle, with a very distinctive license plate,” the police chief said.
The man who shot and killed nine people at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was there for about an hour, and had appeared to be attending a meeting with the eventual victims, before he began shooting, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning.
CNN reports that there were three survivors in Wednesday evening’s shooting, and of the nine people killed, six were female and three were male.
The historic church had overcome several obstacles in the past, and according to CNN:
“It was burned to the ground at one point, but rebuilt. Throughout its history, it overcame obstacle after obstacle — destroyed by an earthquake, banned by the state. But its church members persevered, making it the largest African-American church in terms of seating space in Charleston today.”
Photo Credit: MSNBC
