Emanuel AME Church Reopens in Charleston, South Carolina, Four Days After Shooting Killed Nine

Nine people were killed on Wednesday, June 17, at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, according to reports. The suspect, Dylann Roof, was 21 years old, and reports state that he stood up during a Bible study session and began shooting. One report describes the victims as Black Christians, and another says that among the dead were six women and three men, including pastors, graduates, librarians, coaches and family members close to the church. The church, known as Mother Emanuel, was the site of the attack, according to a statement from the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Reports gave details about several of the victims. Cynthia Hurd, 54, had worked for the Charleston County Public Library for 31 years, and a city council member said the library branch where she worked will be renamed the Cynthia Hurd Regional Library. South Carolina state senator Clementa Pinckney, 42, had been the church’s pastor since 2010. Earlier that year, he had lent his voice to a campaign promoting police cameras after an officer shot Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was a speech therapist, pastor and school track coach.

On Thursday, June 18, President Obama made his first public appearance after the shooting. He said that mass violence like this does not happen with this frequency in other advanced nations. Obama and civil rights leaders also called for the Confederate flag outside the South Carolina State Capitol to be lowered.

The church reopened four days after the attack, on Sunday. Reverend Norvel Goff told hundreds of parishioners that the church doors were open. One report says the number of attendees exceeded the church’s maximum capacity of 1,200 people. Police maintained a strong presence inside and outside the building, bags were checked, and backpacks were prohibited. Governor Nikki Haley, Rick Santorum, Tim Scott and Maxine Waters attended the gathering. Reverend Rex Ellis, deputy director of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian National Museum, said that the notions of freedom, hope and strategies against oppression come from the Black church. Those who lost their lives included a pastor whose work had been connected to public safety, a point that reflects the call to protect the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The House Committee on Homeland Security has called for the shooting to be labeled domestic terrorism. The committee’s statement, as published, describes the gunman’s action as the killing of nine Black Christians at Emanuel AME.