Charleston marks anniversary of church shooting amid Orlando aftermath

Friday marks one year since nine black people were shot and killed while studying their Bibles in a basement room at the historic church.

Trinity AME planned Friday’s candlelight vigil to “show our solidarity of our fellow slain AME church members”, according to a news release.

Hymns were led by a 100-member choir and a minister prayed for the Charleston and Orlando victims, as well as for the soul of the accused church shooter, Dylann Roof. “We can overcome evil with the relationships we build together, we overcome evil by the good that we do and the community that we build”.

The South Carolina State Museum will be holding a Day of Remembrance on June 17.

McPherson said he had attended Emanuel from time to time, but he did not have a ticket for the memorial service.

“Can’t we at least remove the availability of assault weapons from those who have broken the law?” It continues to affect their lives, they said, straining family relationships, shifting career paths and leaving voids in their lives that no form of justice can fill.

Tim Scott talked of the tragedy at Mother Emanuel AME Church nearby and celebrated the lives of the victims and the three survivors. State prosecutors, also seeking capital punishment, charged Roof with nine counts of murder and one count of possessing a firearm while committing a violent crime. “Can’t we at least complete reasonable background checks”, Mayor John Tecklenburg, City of Charleston. “And I didn’t know how we were going to recover from that”, Haley said of the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Even with this knowledge gleaned from the oral histories passed down from my elders, and from my own knowledge gained from painful first-hand experiences, I was still numb from shock.

Melissa Rogers, special assistant to President Barack Obama, delivered a message from the White House during the event, saying, “We look to Mother Emanuel for inspiration in the wake of Orlando”.

“It’s still devastating and hard to accept. I’ve forgiven the guy because that’s what they taught us, but I haven’t forgotten”.

“We have the obligation to search out and try to find ways to make our community better for everyone”, he said.

Earlier this week, more than 150 people gathered for the Wednesday Bible study, the same event where the shooting occurred past year.

Hanisian pressed people to step forward and take action if they want to see a difference. “No act of kindness or grace, no matter how small, is ever wasted”, the church said.

The Reverend Anthony Thompson’s wife, Myra, was killed in the attack, but he said he began to heal when he offered forgiveness to Roof at the bond hearing two days after the shooting. But she says for her it’s not about an anniversary because she thinks of the victims every day.

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