A map of South Carolina in the United States showing the location of a
shooting at a historic black church Wednesday. GRAPHIC | AFP
Nine people have died in a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.
Law
enforcement officers told a press conference early Thursday morning
that the incident, which happened on Wednesday night, was likely a hate
crime directed at certain people.
Eight
people died at the scene at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal
Church while one person was pronounced dead at a hospital, Mullen said.
WCBD,
a local TV channel, reported that among the dead was Mr Clementa
Pinckney, the South Carolina State senator who was pastor of the church.
The 41-year-old politician was married with two children and had served in the state senate since 2000.
The shooting happened while members of the church were taking part in a prayer meeting, according to Mayor Joe Riley.
MANHUNT FOR 'WHITE MAN'
"This
is inexplicable," Riley said. "It is the most intolerable and
unbelievable act possible ... The only reason someone could walk into
church and shoot people praying is out of hate."
By the time of filing this report, the suspect was still at large.
Officials
described the gunman as a 21-year-old white man with sandy blond hair
and a slender build wearing a grey hoodie, blue jeans and Timberland
boots.
The mayor said he had met with some of the
families and described the encounter as "the most heart-breaking scene
he had ever witnessed".
The police chief on Thursday
announced that the city would be offering a reward for information that
would lead to the capture of the suspect but the amount is to be set
later in the day.
Investigators believe that there was
only one suspect in the tragedy, which unfolded around 9pm, but they
consider him to be armed and extremely dangerous.
Local authorities were using track dogs to try and track him down as FBI officers arrived at the scene to assist in the manhunt.
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