Charleston church to re-open for worship

UPDATE: Members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church plan to gather for worship Sunday morning in the sanctuary of the historic Gothic revival edifice in Charleston completed in 1891 but marred by a horrific shooting rampage Wednesday.

Church member Cassie Watson said the church will re-open for Sunday school at 8:30 a.m., followed by a worship service at 9. Watson and more than a dozen other members entered the building Saturday afternoon after a crew cleaned up the scene in the lower level of the church, where nine people, including the church’s pastor, Clementa Pinckney, died at the hands of a gunman Wednesday night.

Earlier Saturday, photos and a racist rant possibly written by Dylann Roof, who has been arrested and charged in the shootings, were discovered on a website called LastRhodesian.com. The 60 photos reportedly show Roof holding a Confederate flag and burning an American flag, and a close-up of a .45-caliber pistol, the weapon he is accused of using in the church shooting. The lengthy essay includes racist rants similar to what Roof told friends before Wednesday night’s attack.

The FBI is investigating the contents of the website.

UPDATE (June 19, 3:25 p.m.): During a bond hearing today for Dylann Storm Roof, the 21-year-old charged with murdering nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., victims’ family members showed God’s mercy (see video clip below).

One young woman, the daughter of one of the victims, sobbed as she said, “I forgive you.”

Felecia Sanders, whose son Tywanza Sanders died in the attack, told Roof, “Every fiber in my body hurts.” But she also added, “May God have mercy on you.”

“I forgive you, my family forgives you,” said Anthony Thompson. “We would like you to take this opportunity to repent. … Do that and you’ll be better off than you are right now.”

Roof attended the hearing by video conference and did not show any emotion as the family members spoke. The magistrate judge set his bond at $1 million for the one weapons charge he faces—possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. A different judge will set bond for the nine murder charges filed against Roof.

But the suspect, who told the judge he was unemployed, isn’t likely to leave jail any time soon, if ever. Charleston County Sheriff’s Office officials said Roof is in a cell next to former North Charleston policeman Michael Slager, the white officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed African-American man in April.

While mourners gathered in front of Emanual African Methodist Episcopal Church today to leave flowers and notes, civil rights leaders and others called for South Carolina to expunge one of the most visible vestiges of the state’s racial history—the Confederate battle flag. The red, blue, and white banner, now considered by many a symbol of racism, still flutters on the state Capitol grounds.

Roof reportedly had a Confederate flag license plate on his car.

UPDATE (9 a.m. EDT): A friend of suspected gunman Dylann Roof said Roof recently ranted against African-Americans, saying, “someone needed to do something about it for the white race.”

Roof is in jail in Charleston, S.C., today on charges he killed nine people in a shooting rampage Wednesday night at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city’s historic downtown. Roof’s friend Joey Meek identified him to the FBI after seeing surveillance footage of him. Meek said Roof told him during a recent night of drinking that he had used birthday money from his parents to buy a .45-caliber Glock pistol and that he had “a plan.” Meek took the gun out of Roof’s car and hid it in his house, but later gave it back.

Police in Shelby, N.C., apprehended Roof on Thursday after a resident recognized his car and notified authorities. Roof was extradited back to Charleston and awaits a bond hearing. This morning, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told NBC’s Today show the state would seek the most severe punishment.

“We … want him to have the death penalty.”

UPDATE (June 18, 4:55 p.m.): South Carolina officials have released the names and ages of the eight Emanuel A.M.E. Church parishioners killed in last night’s attack.

The victims were identified as Cynthia Hurd, 54, who had worked for the Charleston County library system for 31 years; Tywanza Sanders, 26, a recent Allen University graduate; Sharonda Singleton, 45; Myra Thompson, 59; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; the Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; and DePayne Doctor, an enrollment counselor at Southern Wesleyan University’s Charleston campus.

The church’s head pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, also died in the attack.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten did not release any information about the victims’ wounds or the location of their injuries.

Police in North Carolina arrested the alleged shooter, Dylann Storm Roof, 21, earlier today. They have not provided any information on a possible motive for the attack. Officers took Roof into custody without incident following a traffic stop and found a gun in his car.

A friend identified Roof from a photo distributed by police this morning. The image came from surveillance camera footage taken at the church.

“I don’t know what was going through his head,” said Kimberly Konzny, the mother of the friend who alerted police to Roof’s identity. “He was a really sweet kid. He was quiet. He only had a few friends.”

But the Southern Poverty Law Center already has labeled Roof a “disaffected white supremacist.” In a photo taken from his Facebook page, Roof is wearing a jacket with patches from the former white-ruled African nation of Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, and apartheid-era South Africa. He also had a Confederate flag on his car’s license plate, Konzny said.

It’s not clear whether Roof had any connections to known white supremacist groups.

UPDATE (June 18, 1 p.m.): President Barack Obama used last night's shooting to appeal again for stricter gun laws. Too often during his presidency, he has had to issue a statement of condolences to victims of gun violence, Obama said.

“At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries,” he added.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed her office has opened a hate crime investigation into the attack, which left nine people dead. Survivors said the shooter told his victims African-Americans had ruined the country.

UPDATE (June 18, 11:50 a.m.): Police have arrested the suspect in a mass shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., WLTX in Columbia, S.C., reported the suspect was found in Shelby, N.C., about 250 miles north of Charleston. President Barack Obama is preparing to deliver a statement about the shooting from the White House.

UPDATE (June 18, 10:15 a.m.): Police have identified the suspect in last night’s church shooting as Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Eastover, S.C. He’s thought to be driving a black Hyundai Elantra.

Roof was arrested in March on drug charges. An active manhunt is underway.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (June 18, 7:45 a.m. EDT): Nine people are dead after a white man opened fire during a Wednesday night prayer meeting at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C.

Police are calling the attack a hate crime. During an early morning press conference, officials said the man, believed to be in his early 20s, attended the prayer meeting at Emanuel AME Church and stayed for about an hour before pulling out a gun and starting to shoot.

The pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, died in the attack, along with two other men and six women. Officials have not released the other victims’ names yet, pending family notifications.

Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley called the shooting “the most unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy.”

“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 released images of the atttacker from surveillance video. He left the church in a dark colored sedan, but police have not been able to determine the make and model.

“We will put all effort, we will put all resources and we will put all of our energy into finding this individual who committed this crime tonight,” Police Chief Greg Mullen said, describing the man as a “very dangerous individual” who needed to be stopped before he hurt others.

Gov. Nikki Haley asked for prayers for the victims and their families.

“We’ll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another,” she said.

Two months ago, Charleston was rocked by a police shooting involving a white officer and an unarmed black man. The officer has been charged with murder in the death of Walter Scott, but the incident highlighted racial tension in the area.

The Emanuel AME Church was founded in 1816, after splitting from Charleston’s Methodist Episcopal church. White landowners burned the church building six years later after one of the church’s founders, Denmark Vesey, tried to organize a slave revolt. The congregation worshipped underground until after the Civil War.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.