A gunman opened
fire at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina
Wednesday night, killing nine people.
The suspect, a white man in his twenties, stormed a
weekly bible study group at the 150-year-old Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal church at around 9pm and opened fire on the room.
Eight of the victims died at the scene, and one later
in a hospital. At least one injured person is being treated in a
hospital.
Rev. Clementa Pinckney, pastor of the church and South
Carolina state senator, is reported to be among the dead - it has not yet been
confirmed.
Daily Mail UK reports:
Just hours before the shooting, Pinckney met with
Hillary Clinton as part of her presidential candidate campaign.
 |
| Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen |
Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen said in a news
conference shortly after the incident: 'This is a tragedy that no community
should have to experience… It is senseless, unfathomable…we are going to do
everything in our power to find this individual, to lock him up, to make sure
he does not hurt anyone else…'
He said he believes the shooting was a hate crime.
A huge
manhunt ensued with officers wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying
guns.
Just hours
after the shooting, as a heavy police presence remained in the area, a bomb
threat was called in to the scene, NBC 12 reports.
Police
immediately began pushing media and bystanders across the street.
Mullen
said later that the threat had been rescinded.
The
suspect is described as a clean-shaven, 21-year-old white male and is believed
to be wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and Timberland boots.
Police
were seen soon after taking a man matching the description into custody.
However,
the man was released and the Charleston Police Department tweeted that the
gunman was still at large.
Local
pastor Thomas Dixon told CNN around 11.30pm that the scene was 'very
bad.'
'Apparently
the person just entered the church and opened fire.
'That part
has not been fully articulated on what happened yet ... they are still looking
for the suspect,' he said.
Dixon also
told NBC News that a bible study session is likely to have been going
on at the time of the shooting.
He said
the church holds the sessions every Wednesday.
A heavy
police presence remained outside the church and a helicopter was seen assisting
law enforcement on the scene in the hours following the shooting, FOX reports.
At least
six ambulances were seen in the area of the shooting.
'The only
reason that someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of
hate,' said Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley.
'It is the
most dastardly act that one could possibly imagine, and we will bring that
person to justice. ... This is one hateful person.'
The attack
came two months after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man, Walter Scott,
by a white police officer in neighboring North Charleston that sparked major
protests and highlighted racial tensions in the area.
The
officer has been charged with murder, and prompted South Carolina lawmakers to
push through a bill helping all police agencies in the state get body cameras.
In a
statement, Gov. Nikki Haley asked South Carolinians to pray for the victims and
their families and decried violence on religious places.
'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,' Haley said.
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