ries doesn't happen with this frequency and it is within our power to do something about it. >> that is question, what to do about it. watch "on target," on monday, 10:30. thanks for joining us, have a great weekend. >> griefgrief and forgiveness. in charleston, the mass shooting perpetrator has his first hearing and is confronted by grieving families. >> i forgive you. >> thousands gather to remember the nine who died. not backing down. >> not every country is awash

with easily accessible guns. i refuse to, this is the acknowledge this is the new normal. >> talks on yemen fall apart a humanitarian crisis. >> a public attempt to crush the strayed that's killing elephants. good evening i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. we shall overcome. the song was a key anthem of the civil rights movement. tonight it became a rallying cry of a city trying to heal after wednesday's church massacre. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> charleston, south carolina residents joined hands inside a

college arena. the vigil took place hours after accused gunman dylann roof made his first court appearance. he's charged with nine counts of murder and possession of a firearm. robert ray joins us from charleston. robert two very emotional days from charleston. what is the mood like there tonight? >> reporter: antonio absolutely emotional. i'm going to step out of the camera so you can see some of the people that just got done singing, celebrating god praising the lives of people who were shot inside the church 48 hours ago. i'm going to keep quiet. so you can hear. >> oh god we love you! >> reporter: a celebration of these people, and we also must say that the family of the suspect put out a statement today.

the lawyer, and it read our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed this week. we have all been touched by the moving words of the victims' families, offering god's forgiveness and love in the face of such horrible suffering. this is the meeting of charleston tonight. >> 21. >> it was the first time most of the country heard his voice. >> are you employed? >> no, sir. >> you're unemployed at this time? >> yes, sir. >> dylann roof, the man accused of one of the most heinous acts of hate in south carolina's recent history. >> yes sir. >> speaking to the court through a video screen but the most gripping part of the hearing the victims' families dwirch chance to speak directly of gunning down their loved ones as they prayed.

roof couldn't see them but could hear their words. the message from them was clear. and repeated over and over. we forgive you. >> reporter: and hate will not written. >> i forgive you and my family forgives you. but we would like you to take this opportunity to repenalty to them and you will be better off than you were right now. >> reporter: and the woman who survived the attack by playing dead even as her son was killed. >> we welcome you wednesday night in our bible study with

open arms. you have killed some of the most beautifulest people that i have known. every fiber in my body hurts. >> judge james gosnell spoke as well, taking the unusual step of make a statement before the proceedings began. >> we will reach out to everyone. >> members of roof's family were victims too. >> there are victims on this young man's side of the family. no one would have ever thrown them into the whirlwind of eden that they have been thrown into. we must find the it in our hearts at some time to not only those who are victims but to help his family as well. >> reporter: a million dollar bond was set for the gun charge. another court will set bond for the other charge.

antonio, undeniable faith and courage by the families of these victims in just such a short period after the murders occurred. hard to believe that these strong people could look that murderer in the face and say what they did. remarkable. earlier today we spoke to the father of the suspect and after three different phone calls we finally got him to open up to us, where he stride to clear the air on some of the reports out there in the media across the country. he did tell us that he did not purchase the gun for his son. and that his son bought that gun with his own money. he also said that it was he and his daughter who called the hot line to identify his son as the killer. and not the uncle. and that the urchg some not to uncle is not to be listened to or believed. that is the words of ben roof today, whether any of that is true we don't know but those are his quotes.

antonio. >> we are learning more about the victims of the shooting. tony harris has a closer look of the nine who died and those who were left behind. >> they were drawn together by their faith. yet in the place where they felt safest, their lives were cut short. the victims were ages 26 to 87. many of them parents. and even grandparents. the pastor, reverend clementa clementa pincknewney. a father, 42 years old. friends and family describe him as a man of character. >> clementa was a brother. >> sint, member of ame for 31 years. she dedicated her life the service and improving the lives

of others. ethel lee lance was 70 years old. she also gave her life to the church. she was the sexton. her grandchildren said she gave life to everyone. >> we were on the choir together, this hurt a lot because this is the family church. i can't take it. >> she was susie jackson a long time church member who decide at 87. >> taiwanda sanders. a graduate of business administration in columbia, south carolina. described as committed and a dedicated student. ♪ ♪ >> myra thompson was the wife of reverend anthony thompson.

the vicar of holy trinity ame. >> this is community is going through our heartbreak and through our love of those family members surviving, we are going to show in mother yeanl and emanuel and in this community and in our state that we, through love, can rebuild lives. and that's what we have to do. >> reverend daniel simmons was a church regular. he made it a point to be there every sunday, simmons was a retired minister. reverend de payne doctor. she loved sing and most of all her girls. reverend sharonza simmons drive

years old. a part of assembly at.emanuel. her son is grieving but he had a poignant message for the community. >> love is stronger than hate. we love the way my mom did. and it can't be close. >> tony harris, al jazeera. >> head of the naacp in charleston, it's hard to believe how charleston is dealing with this. but it's healing to hear the forgiveness of the family members. and that young man a moment ago. edward, can you hear me? >> yes okay, now. go ahead. >> i was just saying that it is

difficult to imagine how charleston is dealing with all of this. but it's really amazing to see the forgiveness from family members, and from the young man we just heard speaking on the show. >> yes, it's significantly easing to the ear to hear the families talk specifically about the forgiveness they give to the victims and to the shooter. they cannot maintain the idea of hate in their hearts. >> and is that the predominant feeling there? you have been talking to parishioners at the church? >> yes, i have. that is predominant feeling among the religious community. it is the predominant feeling among the general public here. >> our be condolence condolences to

you. we understand you knew clementa pinkney. >> yes. >> you had to zeal with the police shooghtd of walter scott. how do you see the racism today in south carolina, in the charleston area, how big of an issue does it remain? >> it remains a pretty big issue, okay? dealing particularly with the issue with walter scott. it seems like the particular state of south carolina in this particular issue is dealing particularly with the killing field. we just had walter scott we're not finished with that segment yet and we just entered into another one nine persons have lost their lives. >> what is the naacp doing to help charleston and south carolina heal? >> naacp has set out an agenda, okay? not only that but just today our national president ceo mr. brooks was here.

from the standpoint of the national level. and he's encouraging the churches to do what they normally do often each of the sundays. the fact that they need to remove the confederate flag from the state house dome. i think it needs to be retired and put into a museum. economically, we're forest. in education we are at the bottom of the totem pole. one of the things we have to start doing in south carolina, specifically stop telling one story and doing another. this is an antebellum state. >> thank you very much. the shooting in charleston has reignited the issue of gun control. the president has weighed in tefsatthe conference of mayors. >> you don't see this scale and frequency in any other nation on

earth. every country has violent and mentally unstable people. not every country is awash with guns. >> as mike viqueria reports the president says politics continue to get in the way of action. >> reporter: it's an all-too-familiar role. after each mass murder president obama shows his rage and resolve. after tucson. >> we cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. >> after aurora. >> such violence such evil is senseless. >> reporter: and after newtown. >> we are going ohave to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics. >> this time the rage was there but instead of resolve there was resignation. >> i say that recognizing the politics in this town foreclose

a lot of those avenues right now. >> the president all but conceded, gun control can't pass congress. president obama haid another made another point. >> we have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violent does not happen in other countries. >> triple the rate seen in most of the developed world. in december of 2012, came the unthinkable tragedy of newtown. it was a tragedy many felt would finally push congress to move on guns. gun rights advocates led by the nra's wayne la pierre.

>> what if adam lanza had been confronted by qualified security? >> in congress, the push for new restrictions collapsed. now, public opinion appears to be turning against more gun control. according to pew research, for much of the last two decades most americans felt it was more important to control gun ownership than gun rights. now that's flipped condition more people say it's more important to control gun rights than gun ownership. 52 to 48%. not all is bike it. 32 people killed, despite the defeats in washington he says the tide is turning at the state and local level. >> we've seen a lot of activity over the past two years promoting good gun activity and

repealing the basic public safety laws in place. >> but even individuals like goddard admit new gun legislation isn't going to pass any time soon. mike viqueria, al jazeera washington. why some say new gun laws are not necessary.

>> a historic celebration if texas today was overshadowed by the events in south carolina. genuinetejuneteteenth. >> we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of emancipation. we are not necessarily celebrating the 150th

anniversary of freedom. because from all indications african americans in this country are still not free. >> praying and reflecting on the past and present. wednesday's shooting in charleston has raised new questions about hate crime laws. south carolina is one of five states that do not have hate crime laws on the books. some hope that changes in the wake of the disaster. >> reporter: federal investigators are examining this as a hate crime. >> i'm a realist. i don't think we should be dancing around these issues. >> wendell gilliard has put forth efforts in legislative

committees in the past three years. >> racism is live and welt, you can't be more truthful than that. we judge that by our history and the incidents that are going on in south carolina. >> many south carolina legislators say the laws are tiff enough. mark sanford has served at the state's governor for eight years. with federal laws in place a separate state law for late crimes isn't necessary. >> all i'm saying is if at the end of the day you are going to be killed by lethal injection in our state versus another state that may have hate crime legislation but at the end of the day, you will live out your days, the consequence is are more severe in srk than other states. >> we need in-house laws to send

a strong message to excite things when they happen. >> sending a message to the victims that their state supports them. >> there are people in the state who grow up every day scared and gay. and african americans we have to put that in context. >> police officers to wear body cameras but after the april shooting death of walter scott an your honor armed black man this month south carolina's governor signed that bill into law. representative giliard is hoping that wednesday's shooting will help his colleagues pass hate crime laws. in colorado a judge has denied a defense motion to

dismiss against the aurora, colorado theater massacre. the prosecution rested its case after presenting victim testimony that holmes was guilty. he has pled guilty by reason of insanity. next meet ivory crush in times square and how activists hope to spread the word around the with comploab. incredible pictures, a camera captures the picture after a massive eruption.

>> the south korean health officials today says the death toll from mers is 24. the total infected is 166. meanwhile, thailand has its first case, sparking the fears the disease could spread further. officials there say they have the mers case isolated. amazing pictures from indonesia pep the mount sinavong erupting. the volcano has erupted periodically since 2010 but much more active in the past days. thousands are have escaped what

authority believe to be the danger zone. a ton of illegal ivory was crushed in new new york's times square. john terret was there and he joins us now with more. john. >> reporter: 96 el elephants are slaughtered every day in africa. you can't get your hend around head around it. today's message to the traffickers was as clear as any neon sign there could be. we're going to crush you and your profits. a long line of tine 80 bud tiny buddhas small births and other figures.

crushed. >> every day 96 elephants are killed. that's one every 15 minutes. that's 35,000 a year. and at this rate, elephants will go ex tingtd. >> an ivory crush in times square works because the city was once the center of trade in illegal ivory. >> this is what one ton of ivory looks and sounds like when it's being crushed in times square. the people trying to sell this ivory are behind bars and it's being turned into a useless powder. animal lovers were on hand to witness the crush. tourists from all over here too. >> by being here i show i stand for elephant, i stand for animal rights, and i love them. they're beautiful. >> they're social animals tender caring compassionate

animals. >> reporter: the u.s. has taken steps to tighten laws against illegal ivory. >> we're not only crushing ivory we're crushing the bloody ivory market. >> there is a loophole in u.s. laws. trading in ancient ivory is okay. but it's almost impossible to tell the difference between new and old. >> at the end of the day, when you buy that trinket you are supporting the legal trade. >> president obama has called for a national ban on the sale of ivory but so far no action has bin taken. new york and new jersey has established laws banning the sale of any ivory products. and california has a law coming forward. people certainly hope so for the sake of the elephants.

>> i see them be being sacrificed for the tacky trinkets. >> the ivory crush was told today that two weeks ago beijing announced an intention to shut down its domestic ivory trade. if done so, it could be a game change are for elephants. >> thank you john. the fields of waterloo saw battle again today. 5,000 soldiers, 300 horses. it was a reenactment of the battle of waterloo. 10,000 soldiers died in battle, a battle that didn't even last a full day. a combined forbes of british

french and german soldiers. no one was hurt today. ray suarez is up next. with "inside story." have a great weekend. fps >> in conflict zones across the world, foreigners click americans have gone to help -- including americans have gone to help and report on events and been kidnapped. they have been pawns by political extremists or garden variety extreme is who want a big payday. when americans were killed by