At least nine people were killed in a deadly shoot out at an historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday evening.
The church holds a Bible study in its basement on every Wednesday evening.
Chicago Sun Times quoted Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen saying that prayers were being held inside the church when the incident occurred. Mullen also said that eight people were found dead at the Church and another person died after reaching hospital, also adding that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
The suspect was still at large.
According to the local police, the shooter was a clean-shaven white man in his 20s.
Although news camera showed police officers taking a man, who matched the description of the suspect, taking into custody, but they denied any success in this regard.
Mullen described the shooter as extremely dangerous and assured to use all resources and energy in finding the individual.
Local Pastor Thomas Dixon also criticised the incident. He told KTLA, “It’s really bad. It’s a very bad scene,”
In a statement published in Chicago Sun Times, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said “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.”
Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush also cancelled his event planned in the city Thursday due to the deadly church shooting.
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the shooting took place, describes itself as the “oldest AME church in the South” on its website.
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