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White gunman sought in killing of 9 in black Charleston church

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[h=4]White gunman sought in killing of 9 in black Charleston church[/h]A lone white gunman walked into an historic black church in downtown Charleston late Wednesday, mingled with a Bible study group for about an hour then opened fire, fatally shooting nine worshipers, including the pastor.

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Nine people, including state senator Celementa Pinckney, were killed during a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. Pinckney was also the pastor of the church. Police say the shooting was a hate crime. VPC


This image has been provided by the Charleston Police Department, Thursday, June 18, 2015. A man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday night, June 17, 2015, killing nine people, including the pastor in an assault that authorities are calling a hate crime. The shooter remained at large Thursday.(Photo: Charleston (S.C.) Police Department)


Police, beefed up by additional FBI agents flown in from Washington, appealed to the public Thursday for tips on the whereabouts of a lone white gunman who opened fire on a Bible study group in a historic black church in downtown Charleston, killing nine people, including a pastor.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck effort with the community as well as law enforcement," Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said. "When people go out they should be vigilant, they should be aware of their surroundings. And if they see anything suspicious, they should call law enforcement."
"No one in this community will forget this night," said Mullen, who called the killings at the Emanuel AME church a "hate crime."
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.
USA TODAY
9 dead in shooting at black church in Charleston, S.C.




The nine victims — three men and six women — included pastor, Clementa Pinckney, 41, who was also a South Carolina state senator, State House Minority leader Todd Rutherford told The Associated Press.
Authorities said the gunman spent about an hour inside the church, mingling with the Wednesday night Bible study group before opening fire. Eight of the victims died at the church and the ninth died at a hospital. Three people survived, police said.
Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of Pinckney, the pastor, said one of the survivors told her that the gunman reloaded five times during the ordeal.
At point, as he was reloading, members of the group tried to get him to stop, Johnson told WIS News.
"He just said 'I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go," Johnson said.
Dot Scott, president of the Charleston NAACP, said the gunman apparently allowed one woman to live so that she could tell others what happened inside the church.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley called the killings "the most unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy."
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This photo, released by the Charleston (S.C.) Police Department on Thursday, June 18, 2015, shows the suspect in the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on Wednesday, June 17, 2015. Nine people were killed in the shooting at the church.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Charleston (S.C.) Police Department)

"The only reason that someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate," Riley said. "It is the most dastardly act that one could possibly imagine, and we will bring that person to justice. ... This is one hateful person."
Police issued photos of the suspect and his apparent getaway car, a four-door, black sedan.
The gunman, called "armed and dangerous," was described as a white male in his early 20s, with sandy blond hair. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a yellow symbol on his left side.
The photo of the suspect, taken by a surveillance camera, indicated that he is about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and sported a distinctive bowl-like haircut, possibly a wig.
The church is a historic African-American church that traces its roots to 1816, when several churches split from Charleston's Methodist Episcopal church.
Community organizer Christopher Cason said he felt certain the shootings were racially motivated. "I am very tired of people telling me that I don't have the right to be angry," Cason said. "I am very angry right now."
Pinckney, the 41-year-old pastor, was a married father of two who was elected to the state house at age 23, making him the youngest member of the House at the time.
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The S.C. state Senator and pastor killed when a gunman shot up his Charleston church was an advocate for safe churches. In the state legislator in 2013, Sen. Clementa Pinckney supported a bill that would expand penalties for church vandalism. VPC

"He never had anything bad to say about anybody, even when I thought he should," Rutherford, D-Columbia, said. "He was always out doing work either for his parishioners or his constituents. He touched everybody."
Emanuel is the oldest AME church in the South and has one of the oldest and largest black congregations south of Baltimore, according to its website. Denmark Vesey, executed for attempting to organize a major slave rebellion in 1822, was one of the founders.
Said Police Chief Mullen: "This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience. It is senseless. It is unfathomable that someone would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives."
USATODAY.COM
BEHIND THE BLOODSHED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICA'S MASS KILLINGS




Pinckney was a native of Beaufort, S.C., and graduated magna cum laude from Allen University in 1995. He received a master's of divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and a master's degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina. He was elected to the South Carolina House in 1996, when he was 23, and was elected to the state Senate in 2000.
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Clementa Pinckney<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: WLTX)

Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement: "The NAACP was founded to fight against racial hatred and we are outraged that 106 years later, we are faced today with another mass hate crime.
"There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture."
In a statement, Gov. Nikki Haley asked people to pray for the victims and their families. "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," she said.
Senator Tim Scott, who last year became the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate from the south since Reconstruction, said in a statement that he will be leaving Washington to return home to South Carolina as soon as possible.
USA TODAY
Deadly rampages: We have seen it before




"My heart is breaking for Charleston and South Carolina tonight," he said. "This senseless tragedy at a place of worship — where we come together to laugh, love and rejoice in God's name — is absolutely despicable and can never be understood."
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who was in Charleston hours before the shooting, tweeted: "Heartbreaking news from Charleston - my thoughts and prayers are with you all. -H."
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush canceled his events in the city, where he was scheduled to campaign Thursday.
"Governor Bush's thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy," his spokesperson Allie Brandenburger said in a statement.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTINGCharleston police: 'We will catch' church shooter | 01:12Chief Gregory Mullen emphasized his department's commitment to catching the man suspected of killing nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Police confirm they currently do not know where the suspect is. VPC




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTINGPastor killed in church massacre was a 'leader' | 01:01After 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. VPC




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTING9 dead in Charleston after church massacre | 00:58Nine people, including state senator Celementa Pinckney, were killed during a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. Pinckney was also the pastor of the church. Police say the shooting was a hate crime. VPC




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTINGSen. killed in church wanted 'people to feel safe' there | 00:30The S.C. state Senator and pastor killed when a gunman shot up his Charleston church was an advocate for safe churches. In the state legislator in 2013, Sen. Clementa Pinckney supported a bill that would expand penalties for church vandalism. VPC




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTINGPolice: Charleston church shooting was a hate crime | 00:54Authorities are looking for a young white man in connection to the massacre at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC where a gunman opened fire, killing nine people. WLTX-TV




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTING9 killed in South Carolina church | 01:41Police in Charleston, South Carolina say a gunman killed nine people at an historic black church on Wednesday night. Police are searching for a white male, approximately 21 years old, with sandy blond hair. (June 18) AP




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CHARLESTON, S.C. CHURCH SHOOTINGPolice searching for church shooter in Charleston, S.C. | 01:18According to local media, nine people were shot and some of them killed in Charleston, South Carolina's historic Emanuel A.M.E. Church.
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Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara
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