9 dead as white man opens fire in historic black church in US

Members at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston had gathered for a prayer meeting when gunfire erupted in the 19th century building, raising racial tensions in the country that has recently witnessed a spate of killings of unarmed black men by white police officers.

Charleston Police identified the gunman as <g data-gr-id="32">Dylann</g> Roof of Lexington, South Carolina.

Following a massive manhunt Roof -- a slender white man with dark blond or brown hair in a distinctive bowl-type haircut and wearing a grey sweater -- was caught from neighbouring North Carolina.

The gunman stayed at the prayer meeting last night for nearly an hour before shooting the victims -- six females and three males, Police Chief Greg Mullen said. The shooting victims at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church “were killed because they were black,” Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis told CNN.

Federal authorities have opened a hate crime probe into the shooting, the Department of Justice said. “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 while a ninth succumbed to injuries at a hospital, police 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 Senator Larry Grooms said. Two of the survivors were not harmed, he said.

The suspect was seen leaving the church in a black sedan, police said. The gunman reportedly told a woman survivor he was letting her live so she could tell everyone else what happened. The church’s 41-year-old pastor, state Senator Clementa Pinckney, was among the people who died inside the church.

The FBI will aid the investigation, Mullen said.

“This is 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,” Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said in a statement.

South Carolina Governor Indian-American Nikki Haley said her family was praying for the victims and families touched by the senseless tragedy. “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 in a statement.