Nine people are confirmed dead, including a state lawmaker, after a shooter attacked a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
At about 9:00 PM members of a bible study group in Charleston’s historic Mother Emanuel AME Church became victims of a mass shooting. Police say the shooter is still at large. They describe him as a 21-year old white male of slender build with sandy blond hair.Â
UPDATE:Â Charleston Police Release Photo Of Suspected Shooter Who Killed 6 Women, 3 Men At Historic Church
Among the dead are Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a 41-year old South Carolina Democratic state senator and the pastor of the 19th century church.
MSNBC reporter Benjy Sarlin was on the scene:
“I do believe this was a hate crime,” Chief of Police Gregory Mullen (photo, top) said. In a press conference (video) shortly after 1:00 AM this morning, Mullen described the attack as “senseless” and “unfathomable.”
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley called it “an unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy in this most historic church, an evil and hateful person took the lives of citizens who had come to worship and pray together.”
Police are on the scene and using helicopters to search for the suspect.
A bomb threat, now over, forced police to ask nearby residents to evacuate.
Live video:
Many on social media are demanding the press and police label this a terrorist attack, stating had the shooter not been white it would have been.
Some responses via Twitter: