Post by ailurophile on Jun 18, 2015 14:30:41 GMT
He didn't start shooting right away, police said.
The white man spent an hour in a prayer meeting at the historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night before he opened fire, killing nine people, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning.
Then the man escaped onto the streets of the city's historic downtown, an area normally jammed with tourists. He was still at large Thursday morning as an army of law enforcement officers combed the region.
Mullen said he considers the shooting at the oldest AME church in the South a hate crime -- a designation that would allow federal prosecution.
"The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate," Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said.
Eight churchgoers died at the scene; a ninth at a hospital, police said. Among them is the pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, South Carolina state Sen. Kent Williams told CNN. He's a cousin of Pinckney's, who was also a state senator.
A woman who survived says the gunman told her he was letting her live so that she could tell people what happened, Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN. Scott said she heard this from the victims' family members.
"I did not hear this verbatim from the almost victim, I heard it from at least half a dozen other folks that were there and family of the victims. There seems to be no question that this is what the shooter said," Scott said.
Authorities said they were shocked not only by the killings but that the violence occurred in a house of worship. The church holds a regular Wednesday night prayer meeting.
"People in prayer Wednesday evening. A ritual, a coming together, praying, worshiping God. An awful person to come in and shoot them is inexplicable," Riley said.
There were 13 people inside the church when the shooting happened -- the shooter, the nine people who were killed and three survivors, South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms, who was briefed by law enforcement, told CNN. Two of the survivors were not harmed, he said.
Mullen said six females and three males were killed. He said he didn't know if the shooter had specific targets.
"We don't know if anybody was targeted other than the church itself," he said.
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The white man spent an hour in a prayer meeting at the historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night before he opened fire, killing nine people, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning.
Then the man escaped onto the streets of the city's historic downtown, an area normally jammed with tourists. He was still at large Thursday morning as an army of law enforcement officers combed the region.
Mullen said he considers the shooting at the oldest AME church in the South a hate crime -- a designation that would allow federal prosecution.
"The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate," Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said.
Eight churchgoers died at the scene; a ninth at a hospital, police said. Among them is the pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, South Carolina state Sen. Kent Williams told CNN. He's a cousin of Pinckney's, who was also a state senator.
A woman who survived says the gunman told her he was letting her live so that she could tell people what happened, Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN. Scott said she heard this from the victims' family members.
"I did not hear this verbatim from the almost victim, I heard it from at least half a dozen other folks that were there and family of the victims. There seems to be no question that this is what the shooter said," Scott said.
Authorities said they were shocked not only by the killings but that the violence occurred in a house of worship. The church holds a regular Wednesday night prayer meeting.
"People in prayer Wednesday evening. A ritual, a coming together, praying, worshiping God. An awful person to come in and shoot them is inexplicable," Riley said.
There were 13 people inside the church when the shooting happened -- the shooter, the nine people who were killed and three survivors, South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms, who was briefed by law enforcement, told CNN. Two of the survivors were not harmed, he said.
Mullen said six females and three males were killed. He said he didn't know if the shooter had specific targets.
"We don't know if anybody was targeted other than the church itself," he said.
link