Families and friends on Thursday morning mourned the nine people who were killed in a Charleston, S.C., church Wednesday night, describing the victims as “positive” and “kind-hearted.”
One victim was a 20 year-old barber who was attending a Bible study.
“He was my cousin,” Kenyatta Terry told NBC News of the 20-year-old barber gunned down at the Emanuel African Methodist Church during a Bible study. “He’s an outgoing person. He’s the one that could talk to anybody. He’s a positive person. There’s nothing wrong with going to Bible study, bettering yourself. That’s what he’s about.”
According to Terry and others, the church was focused on family and creating peace within the community.
“That’s my dad’s church, that’s my auntie’s church. It’s the church where my cousins got married at. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the church,” she said.
Another victim was South Carolina state senator and pastor Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Pinckney, who was leading the Bible study, died while “trying to bring together a people for peace,” J. Denise Cromwell said.
“He was a sweet person,” said community member Lisa Doctor. “He was just a kind-hearted man.”
Charleston citizens made clear that they don’t want the city to be torn apart by the shootings.
“It’s just unbelievable that this happened. … It’s devastating for the whole community, not just me,” Doctor added. “That something like this happened in Charleston, which we call a holy city. We all wouldn’t be out here today if we didn’t care.”
The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof and who was caught Thursday morning, attended the study for about an hour before opening fire. He reportedly told one victim that he was letting her live so that she could tell people what happened.
Sylvia Johnson said she talked to a survivor who said the gunman said, “I have to do it.”
The same survivor said that the shooter reloaded five times while her son tried to talk him out of it. He refused to listen.
“You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go,” the shooter told the group, Johnson said the survivor told her.
There was outcry throughout the community as African-American members urged others to recognize the racial tension within the community. Charleston citizens fear the shooting could turn the city into a new Ferguson.
“What we hear now is that there was a Caucasian white man who walked into an African-American church and opened fire while people were praying, having Bible study,” said Tony Fields, minister at the Charleston County Ministers Conference. “That’s unacceptable. That’s unacceptable. We’ve been praying for a long time, we’ve been on our knees for a long time. But now it’s time to stand up.”
The church is one of the nation’s most historic churches. In 1822, one of the church’s co-founders, Denmark Vesey, attempted a slave rebellion that came to an abrupt end when authorities found out about the plan. Thirty-five people were executed, including Vesey.
“There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture,” said NAACP President Cornell William Brooks.
Charleston is known as the “Holy City” because of its known acceptance of all faiths.
“And then you have the nerve to get on TV and say this is the Holy City. What’s holy about it?” One outraged community member asked. “We are community that is just trying to live and survive. Why do we have to live like this? We have enough issues here in Charleston now. We don’t need more. We need peace.”
