occasion others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. and then you destroy yourself. a young man suspected of gunning down church goers during a bible study session. he is now in police custody and we're learning more about claims of his racist past. >> also ahead this hour the mass killing puts gun control back in the spotlight. the u.s. president is taking on the issue. later in this broadcast, we learn more about the reverend the track coach, the librarian and others who died in this shooting. we welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell live in charleston south carolina. >> hello, george. i'm natalie allen. and you are watching cnn newsroom.

♪ >> we start this hour here in charleston south carolina. the scene of a mass shooting that happened inside of this church. it was a day ago that its members welcomed a stranger in to their arms for bible study session. he ingratiated himself with the group. he made them feel he was not a threat and then he started to kill people in cold blood. dylann roof is the plan police say opened fire inside the emanuel african-american episcopal church on wednesday night killing nine people. police caught roof across the state boarder in shelby north carolina. investigator and charleston's mayor say they are treating the shooting as a hate crime. >> i don't know how you define terrorism. i think i would consider it a hate crime. obviously for him to pick an

african-american church and shoot african-american members, there's something weird and bad and hateful going on in his mind. >> we do not know why roof opened fire in this historic church. there seemed to be mounting evidence he was motivated by racism. police in shelby north carolina got a call around 11 a.m. on thursday about a possible sighting of the suspect. a floirs on her way to work said she recognized roof's car and his hair cut. >> something told me, i'm telling you divine intervention. god had me where i needed to be. i am not telling you i wasn't afraid. i was scared. i was scared. you know, but i kept saying, lord you know if i can just get there and do it safely. i wasn't going to try to put myself or anyone else in danger. if i can do it safely and get his tag number. >> now this entire city fair to say the state and country. people are struggling with what happened here in this

devastating loss. everyone from residents to clergy to politicians, they are all wondering how this could have happened. >> the accused killer in the charleston church massacre caught more than 200 miles from the crime scene in shelby north carolina. 21-year-old dylann roof waived extradition and seen here wearing prisonen stripes was flown back to south carolina to face charges for cold-blooded killers allegedly motivated by hate. >> that terrible human being who would go in to a place of worship where people are praying and kill them is now in custody. where he will always remain. >> reporter: this video from a snapchat shows the bible study session on wednesday night. taken by one of the victims,

26-year-old tywanza sanders from inside the emanuel african-american episcopal church. captured just before the shooting you get a glimpse of the suspect sitting at the table with worshipers. police say he spent almost an hour inside the church before pulling out his weapon and killing nine people. >> active shooter, multiple people down. >> reporter: witnesses said that roof stood up and announced to those in the church he was there to shoot black people. telling his victims when one pleaded for mercy, quote you rape our women and are taking over our country and you have to go. the gruesome mass shooting at this historic black church more affectionately known as a mother emanuel ame church is being investigated as a hate crime. >> acts like this one have no place in our country and no place in a civilized society. >> reporter: among those killed the church's pastor and state senator clement clement. witnesses say he was preaching when he was shot and killed.

moumpbers draped a black cloth over his seat in the legislature. >> this is someone that should be revered and respected and all of us want answers. we want to know why this young man chose this church and reverend pinckney. >> 5-year-old boy who reportedly survived by playing dead and one woman spared because the shooter wanted her to tell the world what he had done. it prompted an emotional response from u.s. president barack obama. >> there's something particularly heart breaking about a death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace. in a place of worship. >> reporter: in south carolina the state's governor gave voice to this community's grief. >> we w and the heart and soul of south carolina

was broken. >> i want to tell you now about sylvia johnson. she lost a dear kouzn in this shooting. the pastor, clementa pinckney. johnson talked to anderson cooper about what her friend witnessed. >> what i heard is after shooting a couple of rounds, her son tried to talk him in to not committing anymore acts of murder. >> her son tried to talk him sgloun he did. he tried to talk him down. her son and grand baby had already planned they were going to just act as though they were already killed but the son was concerned about reverend clementa. he got up and that's when the

gunman said you know the young man tried to stop him from doing what he wanted to finish off. he said no. you have raped our women. you are taking over the country. >> you have raped our women and are taking over the country. >> i have to do what i have to do. >> and he continued shooting. >> and he shot the young man. his mother was there and she witnessed -- she pretended as though she was dead. she was shot and dead but she watched her son fall and laid there and she laid there in his blood. >> she laid there in his blood. >> yes, she did. >> oh my. >> when i got to talk to her, her entire dress was just drenched in blood. she said that's my son's blood. he was a good boy.

he was a good boy. >> and he passed? >> and he passed him along with one of her aunts. >> to hear that story is heart breaking. you know there's a great deal of pain and grief in this community. to explain it i'm joined now with the reverend nelson rivers iii, vice president at the national action network and pastor at charity mission baptist church. we appreciate you being with us. >> thank you. >> i want you to explain the history and importance of this church. what happened there is horrific. but given where it happened has a lot of significance. >> it is a historic church. it is walking distance from where slaves came. one-third of african-americans can direct trace their past to the beginning here in charleston not far from this church. this is the oldest ame church in the south. a church of power. a church involved in the movement but it is sbeg gral of what happened to

african-americans in the community. when you attack the mother you attack all of us. >> mother emanuel as the church is noechb. given what happened here what's the community reaction? earlier i saw a group of people randomly come together for prayer circle. this has been happening all over. there have been prayer services. there have been vigils. what more is happening? how is the community coping? >> i went to two today. i have one tomorrow at the college of charleston not far from him. another city-wide individual. shock, disbelief and really trying to say it is not true. we are trying to wake up from this horrible dream but we're not waking up. >> the simple fact this church invited mr. roof in to the building. he was welcome. he was welcome to come in. he sat there with them for at least an hour. to make them feel like he wasn't a threat. then we all know what allegedly happened. what he allegedly dichld what do you think of that? >> diabolical evil, the worst

kind of conduct. think of that sitting next to the pastor knowing you plan to kill him. >> hearing the words of the bible study. >> the words about love hope peace. and getting up announcing according to witnesses that he came to kill black people. he knew that when he sat down. that sounds to me like an animal. often we use that word we use it throwing it around but when you describe what happened in the church what he did, what he allegedly said it sounds like conduct of an animal. >> the pastor of the church was a good friend of yours. >> in fact we were together a week ago when he witnessed the sign of the body camera bill. >> he was instrumental in that. >> he gave a moving commentary that convinced some people to vote for the bill. we talked about good work we were going to do. and to hear yesterday he is gone. that's the way they said it he's gone made it hard to believe. >> thank you so much for spending time with us. >> appreciate it. thank you.

>> this is certainly something that is going to be difficult for people in this community and really around the country, natalie, to deal. you do get a sense that people are trying to cope. they are trying to come together and make the best sense of it they can. but a lot of lives lost here. natalie. >> thank you george. we you in a by u.s. president obama calls the church massacre a tragedy and is using the shooting to revive the debate over gun control. senior white house correspondent jim acosta has that. >> reporter: it's a problem that has dogged president obama like no other, mass shootings in america. >> i have had to make statements like thoom times. >> this time the president and vice president knew one of the victims, the pastor of the church where the latest rampage occurred. south carolina state senator clementa pinckney. the killings in charleston mr. obama said, should serve as an all-too-familiar wakeup call. >> it doesn't have happen in

other places with this kind of frequency. and it is in our power to do something about it. >> reporter: he has spoken out on mass shootings at least 14 times during his presidency from ft. hood aurora new creek, newtown and in the nation's capital. one nearly took the life of gabrielle giffords another happened at the movies. >> what if malia and sasha had been at the theater? as so many of our kids do every day. >> reporter: again at sandy hook elementary a day the president described as his worst in office. >> these tragedies must end. to end them we must change. >> president pushed for a new measure that would have required background checks on firearms sold at gun shows and on-line. >> gabrielle giffords deserves a vote. the families of oak creek and tucson and blacksburg and the countless other communities

ripped open by gun violence they deserve a simple vote. >> reporter: but after a massive lobbying effort by the national rifle association, the bipartisan proposal was defeated. >> the amendment is not agreed to. >> there were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. it came down to politics. >> reporter: republican senator and presidential candidate rand paul condemned the violence in charleston but argued more gun control isn't the answer. >> there's something terribly wrong but it isn't going to be fixed by your government. >> reporter: jim acosta, cnn. the church massacre in charleston raises a lot of issues about the state of race relations in the u.s. joining me in the studio, once again is ken drarks an associate professor of politics at ogle thorpe university here in atlanta. thank you for staying with us another hour. there's a lot of talk about what this was an attack on. it was an attack on the black

church. also the minister represented politics was a leader in the state, as well. >> absolutely. i think that we can can't escape the dual reality of who he was and how he served. to me it is an attack on two institutions that have been successful of african-americans. also when you look at the role that politics has played for african-americans with the voting rights act civil rights act, what have you, african-americans have been able to make redress and inrodes politically. i think this gentle giant as he's been described that was shot down and gunned down i think it is almost a blow to us in terms of the church in its role but also politically in terms of the enrods we have made. i think it is important for us to cause, to say, what was

really going on? what does this perhaps tell us in terms of what we might need to be cautious of or aware of as we approach an election year. >> absolutely. this young man was just a racist. he was a rate r hater and racist. you said earlier that it is time for a dialogue. there's racism in this country. there's an us versus them mentality still in many many pockets across america. where does this dialogue need to go? >> sure. i think we have to take it out of the confines of sanitized places. i think we have to get to the heart. we have to have an ear to hear what other people are saying. why do you feel threaten and feel animosity toward this race? what is inferred by that? this us versus them mentality. i like what you said they are

haters. there are many haters and race is one avenue of hate that we see manifesting but i think there are economics that fuels the hate and ignorance that fuels the hate and fear. today intellectualizing the conversation instead of going heart to heart. the person who called the police she said it is critical. she said she believed god put her in that place at the moment. i think god is calling us to have this conversation in this moment in terms of what with i said earlier. if i see myself in you, and i sit with you for 60 minutes, if i truly see myself in you, i don't know if i could pull that trigger. but if i'm premeditated in my acts even if there is mental illness coming in to play somewhere along the line i believe the lie, the take that black is different, white is different asian is different, latino is different, what have you and i think our country is

on a crash course with a terrible destiny if we don't sit down -- and not just sit down and talk about it because i think people are tired of talking. people feel as if there are double standards but we have to look toward policy and legislation. we have to also look at saying hey, you, i don't know who you are but i care enough about 0 you to share faith and love and justice with you. we have missed it. all the material possessions in the world can't solve this crisis, which is animosity that man has toward its fellow man. >> the country is such a great country and this big thing right here keeps coming back time and time again and lives are wasted. thank you again for being with us. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. now we will go back to charleston, south carolina, and george. >> natalie thank you. back here in charleston south carolina we are learning more about shooting suspect dylann roof and his possible racist world view.

the alarming clues hidden in his facebook profile photo just after the break.

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>> > a symbolic gesture of mourning in the u.s. capitol. the national cathedral in washington ringing its bells nine times for the nine victims of the charleston church shooting. the impact of what happened in this attack what happened here while horrific under any circumstances is made even worse, even magnified because of where it happened. this church the emanuel ame church is a landmark in the united states and its long struggle with race relations. cnn's tom foreman explains. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> located let than a mile from charleston's historic slave market and established in 1816 deep in the slavery years

emanuel has always been more than a place of worship. as the oldest african-american methodist episcopal church in the south it is a living testament to the trials of black america. ♪ here one of the church founders tried to organize a slave rebellion, almost 200 years ago. only to see the church burned the ground when it was discovered. manier than 300 alleged plotters were arrested 35 executed. here run away slaves were secretly helped on their perilous journey north. here martin luther king junior invited new generations to march for evalty -- equality. through it all emanuel has been a leading force for ame churchs and outspoken leaders. >> people like frederick douglas and rosa parks belonged it to. the ame church is always about human and civil rights. >> the church has been our freedom house. >> reporter: the dean at the

howard university school of divinity says that emanuel led the way for so many black churches by being a place where african-american politicians leaders, organizers teachers and more could find acceptance when they were barred from so much of america. >> you know that you will come there unfiltered. you will come there without rekrimization made against you. so no matter the disparages of the larger social order you come here and you can learn to be as fully human as you are. >> that's what emanuel meant to people. >> absolutely. part of that means the affirming of every single person who comes inside of our doors and those who are within the communities around us. >> reporter: tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> back at a live picture of the church. more affectionately known as mother emanuel. very important church. tonight, the feeling is somber. a day ago it was chaotic and a

great sense of pain given the nine people gunned down in this church. let's talk about the shooting suspect, dylann roof. he is back in charleston now at a detention center. before opening fire police say he allegedly told church goers he was there to "shoot black people." one of his former classmates spoke to cnn. he said roof had african-american friends at the time but he also made racist jokes. listen. >> i wouldn't really say he was much of a loner. he mingled between all of the people. >> reporter: did he have any african-american friends? >> he did actually. my friend trey and leslie. i'm not going to say their last names, but that's how i associated with him most of the time was through them. >> reporter: any indication you saw that he held any animous toward african-americans. >> he would say things in a joking manner but never taken

seriously. never occurred that he was being serious. >> reporter: what kinds of things would he say? >> i don't want to say these kind of things. it is nothing too bad. just some racist feel to them i guess. >> there are stories that we're hearing about what he allegedly said inside the church. one of this shooting survivors said she heard roof say, quote, you have raped our women and are taking over the country. i have to do what i have to do. authorities are trying to determine if he had any links to hate groups. a photo on his facebook page shows him wearing a jacket with patches with two flags on it seemingly glorifying white rule over black. the one on the top is the flag of apartheid south africa and used by white supremacist groups bechl low it is the former flag of the white ruled rhodesia that

later became zimbabwe. >> it shows a license plate says confederate states of america it came out the day the supreme court ruled the state of texas is allowed to reject license plates showing the confederate flags. many associate the flag with slavery during the civil war. in south carolina a confederate battle flag remains flying at the state house. cnn asked a u.s. congressman from south carolina if a change needs to be made after this alleged hate crime. here's what mark sanford had to say. >> again, another intense debate within south carolina. for some folks that represents heritage. for other folks it represents hate. it's for that reason the confederate flag was brought off the state capital and put on a place of memorial on the state house grounds. that was a compromise formed some years ago. i think we have to be attentive to where my brothers in christ

are coming from on this debate. lonnie randolph reverend darby, a long list of friends who believe passion natsly it ought to come down from the place of memorial but i have an equal number of friends who say, wait a minute my great uncle died in this effort. for me it wasn't about slavery and states rights. it is an intense debate. what i do know is a compromise reform i was the governor in the history of south carolina to apologize for the orangeburg massacre. i think there are thing we can do. it is premature to go in to an intense, exhaustive emotionally draining debate on what we might do there before we first have had time to mourn the passing of these families and the lives impacted. >> a south carolina heritage act protects the flag on the state house grounds. many people on social media are urging lawmakers to remove it. we have been hearing about hate crimes as we report this story from charleston. coming up, a look at how this

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell live in charleston, south carolina. >> thank you george. i'm natalie allen. you are watching cnn newsroom. thmplgts is the center of so much much sobering pain this day. this church behind me. this became a crime scene wednesday night after a gunman walked in allegedly motivated by hate. the 21-year-old suspect dylann roof was captured on thursday across the border in south carolina then brought back here

to charleston. police say he spent an hour inside of this church on wednesday night at a prayer meeting. he spent an hour taking time to hear what people had to say to make them feel he was not a threat before opening fire on nine worshipers killing them in cold blood. authorities have opened a hate crime investigation in to this shooting. take a look at this. a still image from a very chilling snapchat video showing the bible study. it was shot by one of the victims before the violence erupted. you can see the suspect highlighted in the corner of that image. all over the united states people are mourning the loss of these nine victims. they are expressing their shock and horror over a crime that appears to be racially motivated. earlier, i spoke to elliot the chairman of the charleston county council about the impact that this shooting is having on the kmienlt here. listen. >> heart broken. we lost a fantastic state

senator and leader in our community. the county lost a 31-year employee reverend doctor was a retired member of the county family. this has just been a horrific -- a horrific couple of months. we have buried three county employees or will bury three county employees in a year. deputy shot and killed last year. we lost our radio supervisor that night from heart attack larry britain and we lost miss hurd. i can't make sense of the why. now we're praying, we're mourning and we have to come together as a community and try to make sense of it and prove that we are a stronger community as a christian or as a muslim or as someone with a jewish faith. they call it a sanctuary for a reason. >> reporter: yeah. >> when that is violated it does someone who is of a

religious faith. someone of faith it hurts. and it's a hard pill to swallow. i think we need to let the world know as people of faith, no matter who your god is that we are not scared to go to our churches or synagogues or temples. >> reporter: elliot you make no bones about it. you are pro gun. you are a hundredor yourself here. >> i am. >> reporter: given what happened to that church you know that debate will kick off about gun control, more gun restrictions. what are your thoughts? >> we have to have responsible gun control in the united states. i am an nra card carrying member. i have been since i was 21 years old. but i am a hunter. south carolina charleston specifically is one of the most beautiful places in the world. we make no bones about it. great huntin', great fishing. turkeys, ducks, deer, you name it but it is about responsibility and when those folks prove they can't be responsible that's when the government needs to step in and do something about it.

>> reporter: explain something. you know our show is shown here in the united states and also to viewers around the world who look at the united states with a curiosity in the sense that you know there are some many issues with gun violence. what happened here? and what happens in so many parts of the country. what is that fascination? >> i think it is historic. our country was created through a revolution through the right to bear arms. i think benjamin franklin said unite or die. and he called for people to gather arms as a militia. we live -- we live in a different time now. with the world seems to be changing around us. in charleston, we may be coming to ta realization slower. i call charleston the largest small town you ever lived in. everybody knows everybody or knows somebody. the world is changing on us because we have 43 people a day move to our community.

we have great things happening here but, you know the world is changing around us and we need to be more responsible or force people to be more responsible. i own guns. they are in a safe in my garage. i have 5-year-old and 3-year-old and i don't let them around them. >> but you can bet that debate about gun violence and gun control will be front and center given what happened here. as we have been reporting, a hate crime investigation is now under way. u.s. attorney general loretta lynch made that announcement on thursday. so what is the legal deaf nation of a -- definition of a hate crime in the u.s.? >> it is illegal obviously to kill someone. what congress and the legislators have decided it is more harmful to society when you commit an illegal act like a homicide with harmful, negative racial intent. ♪

the key issue with hate crimes is intent. in a normal homicide case all you have to show is that person "a," shot and killed person "b." what makes a hate crime different is you have to show why person "a" shot person "b" and you have to prove there was some sort of racial hostility, racial animous to it. not all hate crimes are terrorism. terrorism is meant to threaten a large group of people. you can have a hate crime that is essentially just a one-on-one one-on-one. so there are overlapping categories but not exactly the same. >> jeffrey toobin for us. konchts v. coming up here on cnn newsroom we will look at other news of this day. a drushl town in syria is free from the group of isis. we will show you what they left behind. ♪ every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands

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we have this j nus to cnn. health officials in south korea they the outbreak of mers has levelled off. the total of 24 people have died from the mers virus in south korea. officials say they have confirmed one new case in he country but will continue to monitor any further spread. earlier this week the world health organization said the mers outbreak in south korea is a wake up call for countries to be prepared. thailand has confirmed its first case of mers making it the fourth asian country to register this deadly disease this year. in syria, refugees can now return home to the town of after kurdish liberators returned it

isis. >> reporter: this was one of the main isis security buildings here in tal abyad. a town liberated by the kurdish fighting force, a small community of arab rebels and instrument in it were coalition air strikes as the forces were approaching. inside very prominent the black isis flag. here on the wall, this is addressed to our brothers on the check point, asking if anyone has experience in teaching the koran. in these back rooms, there are various other papers administrative pamphlets, booklets left behind and of course the isis flag again. this one is if someone has committed a crime and say, for example, an individual wants to come in and guarantee to the isis authority that the crime won't be committed again. this is a form that they would fill out.

it's just a small indication of how much isis did run itself like a fairly well organized state. people that we have been speaking to and most of the residents have yet to return were talking about how difficult life under isis was. they only stayed here because they didn't want to live as refugees. many people did flee. for example, if you look across the street the red writing there, it says state on it. you see it on a number of buildings and store fronts here. that means they were abandoned or that isis laid claim to them marking them with state. most this them did belong to the kurdish population. there's horrific stories everywhere. there's a called the square of death. there's a cage that people were telling us individuals who had committed minor crimes like smoking in the street would be put in to for a few days.

people we relieved at this stage that not that much damage has been done tal abyad but many are yet to return. bablyon is a city that paid homage to arab leaders and experts are trying to save what is left of it, especially before isis ever gets its hands on it. cnn's ben wedeman spoke to the man leading the project in baghdad. >> reporter: they are hauling away bricks from the ancient city of bablyon. don't worry, this isn't isis yet again vandalizing ancient heritage. these men are with iraq's state board of antiquities and heritage and the bricks date back to the era of saddam hussein. >> we have done a lot of cleaning, removing garage that piled up, removing dead trees, broken. we are working behind there cleaning away a lot of stuff from the old picnic grounds.

surrounded by water. >> reporter: jeff allen of the world monuments fund has been coming to bablyon since the fall of saddam's regime. the world monuments fund recently received a $500,000 grant from the u.s. state department to help restore bablyon. today a curious hybrid part crumbling ruins, part hastily-built backdrop to saddam's mega low mania. he installed himself as the mighty king nebunezzar. saddam tried to claim bablyon as his own. isis would simply destroy it if it could. they haven't reached bablyon, but the war has sucked away money from the effort to preserve it, says archaeologist.

>> the government no money. no support. >> reporter: with help from the world monuments fund the state board of antiquities used laser scanners to document every brick in bablyon's iconic ishtar gate. the important thing about this kind of documentation, explains the engineer is that if isis vandalized this site we can restore it because we have precise specifications. fortunately ancient sites in northern iraq ransacked by isis includeing nineva were never scanned. as a result some areas of the site have long been neglected. >> we are looking at the remains of the tower of tab bablyon.

what you see today is all that is left of a large and tall tower. others untouched for years. all right. so we're a bit off the beaten track here in bablyon. tourists don't come to this part. hardly any tour ists come to bablyon itself. of course we have just seen the remains of the toubl of babel. now we will see an old pit dug more than 100 years ago by german archaeologists. it still just a pit. but it was the heart of ancient bablyon. the temple is sort of the political cosmological religious center of the new babylonian period. this was the largest city of its kind during this period and this was the center of action. >> reporter: so much still to uncover. so little to do it. ben wedeman, cnn, bablyon, iraq.

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>> it's a community in shock. there's a great deal of pain here. charleston, south carolina, mourning the loss of nine it of its own. church goers gunned down insided of this church behind me. emanuel ame church. six women and three men, between the ages of 26 and 87. cnn's anderson cooper shows you how they all shared a love of their faith. ♪ oh we shall overcome ♪ >> reporter: reverend clementa pinckney leader of the emanuel ame church was well known in charleston not only as a religious leader but also a state senator. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> reporter: he became a pastor at 18 and was elected to state office at 23. making him the youngest african-american state

legislator in the history of south carolina. friends remember him as a gentle man with a strong voice, recognizable to all who knew him. reverend pinckney spoke out after the shooting of walter scott by a police officer in north charleston and pushed for legislation requiring police officers to wear body cameras. >> it has really created a real heart ache and a yearning for justice. people not just in the african-american community, but for all people. ♪ we hall overcome ♪ >> reporter: today his desk at the state senate remains empty, draped in black. clementa pinckney was 41 years old. tywanza sanders was participating in bible study on wednesday night. a recent graduate from allen university. he was known as a quiet student who was committed to his edge kag and to his church.

sharonda singleton was another member of the church and a speech therapist and track and field coach at goose creek high school. her son posted a picture of the two of them on mother's day with the caption happy mother's day to my beautiful number one fan that's always been there when i needed her. ♪ cynthia hurd worked in the charleston county library system a manager of one of its busiest branches. she dedicated her life to helping people especially helping them become educated. ♪ depayne middleton-doctor worked at wes leeann university and served at the church as a minister and leaves behind four daughters. susie jackson was at bible study with her cousin ethel both long-time members of the church. ethel, a beloved grandmother worked 30 years there, most recently as the janitor. ethel was 70 years old.

susie was 87. daniel simmons was a retired pastor who faithfully attended the church every sunday for service and every wednesday night for bible study. myra thompson was teaching bible study at the church when the gunman opened fire. she's described as a person who loved the lord and wanted to serve in everything she did. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> anderson cooper cnn, charleston. >> a lot of good people there who lost their lives. people just at church for a bible study session. the gunman who's behind the shooting in custody. we thank you for watching cnn newsroom this hour. i'm george howell live in charleston. >> i'm natalie allen in atlanta. we'll have much more on this story and other news of this day right after this. thank you for watching. nd. and who's better than dad? now, at t-mobile, get the new lg tablet on us when you get a new data plan. no money down. no monthly payments. so get to t-mobile and get a tablet on us.

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. here's a young man suspected of gunning down churchgoers due during a bible study session. we are now learning about claims of his racist past. >> plus gun control back in the spotlight. the u.s. president is is taking on the issue yet aga