charleston police department charleston county sheriff's office state lea n force. . federal bureau of investigation, alcohol, tobacco and firearms and other federal agencies working with us. we are committed, we are determined, and we are definitely working right now with a number of agents and police officers in our region to identify the individual that we passed out to you about an hour ago, that is a suspect in this case. this is a situation that is unacceptable in any society, and especially in our society, in our city. we are committed to co what is necessary to bring the individual to justice. i'm committed and all the people working with us are committed to do whatever it takes to work as long as we have to our partners are committed, we are bringing in resources from washington d.c. from the fbi headquarters to help us. we set up a hot line as we mentioned earlier, 1800. we have agents and police officers manning that phone. we will continue to man the phone until we identified and arrested the suspect. it's critical that the members of the community, who have seen the picture. vehicle as well as the suspect, to call law enforcement. this is a dangerous individual. he should not be approached by anyone call law enforce. if you recognise the individual or the car so we can take the appropriate action to address the situation. again, this is a dangerous individual, and do not want more people harmed trying to preach him, or trying to follow the vehicle if they see it. notify law enforcement and we'll address that. we are very concerned about the families of the victims. we have set up a family assistance center at the embassy streets in downtown charleston. we have members of the charleston police department victim advocacy unit and the fbi victim assistance unit as well. i want to say this - from the time the call came in we had resources coming from all over the east coast. we have more resources coming in this morning from the fbi and other federal agencies. state law enforcement committed a number of resources - both the crime scene, investigative agents, and we are not leaving anything, any stone unturned. this tragedy that we are addressing right now is undescribable. no one in this community will ever for get this night. and as a result of that and because of the pain and because of the hurt that this individual has caused this community, the entire community, the law enforcement agencies that are working on this are committed and we will catch this individual. the important thing for you as the media is to help us catch this executived outline. you have -- individual. you have the ability to get the picture and car out to places

charleston charleston. there was a unique fire to charleston years prior and we lost nine firefighters. so it's ironic that the shooter killed nine people and just years ago on this same day. i can't tell you what was in the shooter's state of mind only that there was hate in his heart. >> in fact the dr. martin luther king center in georgia put out a powerful statement about this early this morning. in which they said we believe that nonviolence is not just about our physical response but includes our social media communication. they are urging everyone even on social media, to keep a level head. they went on to say we have to defy hate with truth and love. they are calling for people to transcend the hate but that is easier said than done. what are you telling your constituents saying this morning? >> we are preaching patience and be asking the community to come together. in fact last night a group of ministers and community members led prayer right behind me. that's what we'll be doing for the better part of the day, but let me be clear, we want to come away with an agenda to reduce g

charleston for a masters in history and stayed. >> i try to tell the students any point of history you give me any point of history and i can tell you something in charleston that affected the nation. >>reporter: why do you think charlestononly be showing one bit of history? >> the other side of history for charleston is very deep and traumatic and sad. >>reporter: his last name comes from the man who owned his an zesters, john c. calhoun. a statue of calhoun stands at the heart of charleston only a block away from a.m.e. ehmmanuel church >> every day i drive down calhoun street and see that statue and there's not one statue i've hated more in my life. he was a vile racist quote, unquote, states rights man but everything that he stood for goes back to the oppression of my people my an -- an zesters. i hate that man. he oppressed my people. >> this past week someone spray painted his statue. a similar message left at a civil war memorial. one of the few indication's of charleston's troubling past is found at the old slave mart museum. >> how many slaves were sold here? >> thousands. we don't have any records to indicate how many exactly but going through the museum we can see prices buildings where they were housed. this

charleston shooting this morning. the first lady is in italy with her mother and daughters. she said that saying her thoughts and prayers with people in charleston does not convey how she really feels. >> my heart goes out to the people of emmanuel and the people of charlestonray for a community i know is in pain and with the hope that tragedies like these will one day come to an end. >> reporter: the first lady said she was particularly pained by the fact that the shooting happened in a house of worship, president obama made similar comments yesterday. >>> emmanuel ame is the oldest black congregation in the south. as morgan radford tells us now, it has seen more than its share of violence and upheaval. >> reporter: beyond the tragedy at emmanuel ame standings a church with deep historical roots. >> where you are is a very special place in charleston and it's a very special place, because this church and this site this area has been tied to the history and life of african americans since about the early 1800s. >> reporter: often called mother emmanuel, the church was founded by worshippers fleeing slavery. the founder paid $2,000 to buy his own freedom. because he was black he was only allowed to participate in certain activities. and in one church near ph

gregory represents charleston's sixth districts he's also on the board of trussees of the emmanuel ame church. thank you for joining us tonight. where is charleston, how is charleston coping? >> charleston is healing tonight, and at mother emmanuel we're in a state of getting ready to bury our dead and go through the healing process. we are one charleston. this kind of racial motivated terrorism only draws us closer together as a people in this city of charleston. >> sometimes i think we forget our history or maybe i'm guilty of that when i watched del walters' piece tonight and he talked about the slave market that is now a tourist attraction in the city of charleston. you can't get away from--go ahead. >> yes, we do have a market, but that market that you're probably referring to is really not the slave market. the slave market is on queen street. but more importantly as we move forward we are building an international african american museum in our city. the museum will be where 40% of the slaves came into this country. it's important for our city to tell the true story to make sure that the history books reflect what really happened in our country. we feel that

our religious history of america. >> in terms of the community in charleston, you mentioned walter scott, north charleston and charleston have seen tragedy in the last several months i guess i wonder how are law enforcement officials responding? what are you hearing from community members? >> we see a number of vigils take place today. at least five here in and around charleston -- it's amazing, you know, people -- >> i think we're having audio problems, craig melvin down in charles 1207bton charleston we'll come back to you later. nine people are dead in what police have called a hate crime, the suspect in that shooting is now in custody. we'll have more for you after the break. audible safety beeping audible safety beeping audible safety beeping the nissan rogue with safety shield technologies. the only thing left to fear is you imagination. nissan. innovation that excites. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been at the forefront of advanced electronics. providing technology to get more detail... ♪ ♪ detect hidden threats... ♪ ♪ see the whole picture... ♪ ♪ process critical information and put it in

charleston basketball arena. i have jill to remember the nine victims. they heard dylann roof wanted to start a race war but say it is not going to happen in charleston. charleston, south carolina brad bell, abc7 news. maureen: thank you. while families are offering to forgive dylann roof his family is not. his father and uncle both called police when they saw the surveillance photos of him on the news yesterday morning. roof's uncle said he would throw the switch himself as he put it if roof gets the death penalty. a much different tone at the d.c. metropolitan a.m.e. church. hundreds gathered to sing, pray and show support to their sister church in charleston. leon: amid calls of healing there isout rage from former governor and current presidential candidate martin o'malley. he is voicing that letter using the language not typical of a presidential candidate. it reads in part after unthinkable tragedy instead of jumping to act we sit back and wait for the appropriate moment to say what we are all thinking. this is not the america we want to be living in. o'malley says the country must address gun control and says that includes banning assault weapons and stre

charleston charleston, south carolina. >>> another big story we are following a bus stop attack a woman dragged into a drive way and sexually assaulted. her attacker is still on the loose. >> that sexual assault happened early this morning in southwest philadelphia. police say the victim was waiting for a bus but before her ride came a stranger attacked. >> surveillance video might give officers a crucial crew. >> reporter: we are working to find out what was on the video. workers there say it happened to show where the attack happened. neighbors living near 65th street in southwest philadelphia are anxious to hear whether police are closer to finding a bus stop predator. >> i hope they catch him whoever he is. i hope he gets caught for doing what he did. >> reporter: workers at eddie's cafe tell nbc 10 detectives retrieved surveillance from a camera. its lens looks out on 65th street and the bus stop where a 22-year-old woman was waiting to catch her bus when she was attacked around 3:00 this morning. >> i would hope the surveillance is there for a reason. >> reporter: police say the woman's attacker put an object to her head forced her to the drive way, robbed and sexually assaulted her. this woman waits at the same bus stop every morning. >> that is devastating. it makes me think about it if i go outside i could be next. >> reporter: the attack brings concern to a neighborhood full of young children and where people felt safe taking the bus all hours of the night. >> you don't feel safe in your own community where can you feel safe at? >> reporter: police are still looking for the attacker. he got away with the cash debit card and identification. reporting live i'm denise nakano nbc 10 news. >>> philadelphia police are looking for the masked attackers who kidnapped two people in a case of mistaken identity. surveillance video shows the home invasion. you can see the attackers leading the victim out with a bag over his head. police say the victims were held captive for hours before one said we got the wrong guy and released them. officers are looking for a minivan. >>> a mother's plea for help. she and police want to find the person who killed her daughter. the body of 28-year-old brittany green was found in logan this morning. the mother of three had been stabbed to death. investigators are looking for her boyfriend tonight, jerrel hall. according to detectives he was seen leaving the house with the children. >> i'm begging y'all, please help me find my daughter's killer. please. >> detectives say hall took the children to his mother's house where he confessed to the crime. it was hall's mother who called police. >>> a protest leads to jail for several atlantic city casino workers. hundreds of union casino employees demonstrated on the boardwalk late this afternoon fighting to have health insurance and other benefits restored. >>> this just in history in the making, a woman will be the new face of the $10 bill. the treasury department made the announcement and looking for public input on which woman to feature. this is the first paper bill to feature a woman in 100 years. the new bills will be printed started in 2020. that is the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote and the deadline of the campaign to get a woman on the $20 bill. ♪ >>> nice night for outdoor concert. we found these people enjoying their evening out. >> as you can see from nbc 10 first alert radar rain is moving in and could lead to a messy morning commute. let's get a closer look at the timing from sheena parveen. >> we have rain approaching the area right now. a lot of it will be here overnight. we have showers approaching washington. a little more closely parts of northern parts of delaware and also chester county maybe seeing a few sprinkles. the rain is going to be moving in through the overnight hours and aside from that we are also watching more rain this one going into the weekend. that is tropical depression bill spinning over dallas and the remnants will be here as we go into your sunday. i will show you timing coming up. here is what your morning commute looks like tomorrow 8:00 a.m. looking at showers around the area. we could see thunderstorms and some of the rain could be locally heavy. new jersey and delaware by the morning commute temperatures low 70s. showers with thunderstorms. philadelphia i-95 from wilmington around 70 degrees. areas north and west temperatures upper 60s. don't forget umbrellas tomorrow and into the weekend tracking more rain. >>> tonight at&t is fighting allegations it cheated customers with unlimited data plans. the federal government is fining the company $100 million saying at&t slowed its data speeds on purpose without telling unlimited customers. the practice is known as throttling. at&t says all major carriers use it and it's a reasonable way to manage resources to benefit all customers. >>> new at 11:00 a college volleyball star says her coach retaliated against her for refusing to attend church with the team. >> months later she lost her full ride scholarship. the student is now suing that coach and her school. on the court the hornets girls volleyball team was known for energy and vh spirit. at the center of manycdax plays you see star center attending college on a full athletic scholarship and on the sidelines coach killingsworth who acknowledged caring deeply about her girls. >> at times just wanting the best for them on and off the court. >> reporter: the coach's offcourt involvement went too far according to a new lawsuit alleging that she lost her scholarship after refusing the coach's requirement to attend this church. >> people are valued. >> reporter: calvary assembly of god, a pentecostal denomination. the lawsuit alleges that team prayer and membership of christian fellowship group were required. in early 2014 she said she expressed discomfort with religious requirements and immediately the attitude towards her changed drastically and the lawsuit says relationship rapidly deteriorated and in december she was told her scholarship would not be renewed. >> there is separation of church and state. delaware state university shouldn't be having church as a requirement. >> reporter: a university spokesman says dell state doesn't comment on pending lawsuits. reporting in dover, george spencer, nbc 10 news. >>> the music starts tomorrow for the 90,000 people expected at the fire fly music festival in dover. the event features more than 100 musical acts including part mccartney. there was lots of traffic as the rv crowd started to arrive. >> this is my fourth year running. the excitement won't stop. >> we want to be a tradition for everyone. >> some businesses are closing for the weekend. they don't think their regular customers will be willing to fight the festival traffic. >>> new at 11:00 the woman accused of faking a black identity is now accused of violating ethics rules. rachel investigators say she violated rules by publically naming citizens who complained about police officers. this week dolezal stepped down from her post leading the local naacp. her parents say she is white but dolezal says she identifies as black. >>> here at home an honor for a teenager credited of saving an umpire's life during a baseball game. tonight he received a hero plaque for quick thinking. monday night the 16 year old was on second base when the umpdropped to the ground. he gave the man cpr until more help arrived. >> it feels nice to be honored by everybody. >> he is a volunteer firefighter with the darby fire company number 1. >>> the video hard to watch shot under cover of one poultry producer allegedly abusing chickens. the investigation it has sparked and who is taking action. >>> why the airline industry is putting a freeze on their plan to force passengers to carry smaller luggage aboard flights. >>> i'm tracking storms for your morning rush and when the remnants of bill will effect your weekend. dear stranger, when i booked this trip, my friends said i was crazy. why would i stay in someone else's house? but this morning a city i've never been to felt like one i already knew. i just wanted to thank you for sharing your world with me. it felt like home. airbnb. belong anywhere. >>> want to update you on breaking news the church shooting in charlestonuth carolina. police say the man seen being taken into custody is not the suspect. officers are looking for the gunman gunman. the pastor a south carolina state senator. police have not released any official information on whether anyone has been injured here. family members are telling our nbc sister station that their loved one is in the hospital. we will bring you updates as soon as we get them on air and on our nbc 10 mobile app. >>> new at 11:00 under cover video reveals inhumane actions by workers at a chicken plant. some may consider this video disturbing. workers seen punching throwing and smacking the birds as they are slammed on to metal shackles. the video was shot at a slaughter house in california. also on the video, baby chicks being thrown on to the ground with what seems like no regard. the local sheriff's office is investigating. the company says it is, as well. >>> tonight in delaware county they are planning for the pope. nbc 10 late this afternoon. delaware city cou

on segregation and integration integration. >> charleston is great for tourists because they love the tours, but if you're black in charleston charlestonove living here but there definitely are a lot of underlying issues we have and unfortunately they're just not talked about. >> it's a beautiful place with a lot of history, and you only see that. you see the glitz and the glamour, and everything else is literally pushed to the other side of town. >> i would never go straight home or i would go and park in my yard or somewhere because i always felt like somebody might be waiting to kill me and those are the kind of stuff that i have been through for so long. >> i feel like this problem can be fixed many ways. starts with my generation stepping up to the plate and saying we're not going to put up with this. our grandparents might have our parents might have but it's time for us to really buckle down sit down talk and fix some things. >> one of the things that i wanted to be all my life since i was about 12 13 years old is to be a man, not a black man, i wanted to be a man. there's no way ever be a man in charleston south carolina. i wou

the president was speaking candidly about a topic that related to last week's incident in charleston. charlestonpening today nfl star quarterback tom brady will face off with envelope commissioner roger goodell. brady was suspended four games and the patriots were fined a million dollars and docked a pair of draft picks. the patriots say that's fine we're not fighting it but brady s a special investigator for the league found that the super bowl champs illegally used underinflated footballs in the afc title game. brady has denied knowing about it or being involved. >> ♪♪ >> "action news" anchor brian taff is in rome this morning for a big announcement. it's related to september's world meeting of families and visit by pope francis to philadelphia. the announcement happening right now is about a music performance during the pope's visit. brian will have a new report at 5:00 a.m. with details on who is taking the stage. local city and church leaders are in rome finalizing preparations for the pope's trip to philadelphia t it's now not even 100 days away. >>> again, brian is in rome to bring you li

charleston. charleston south carolina has been dealing with a lot. we can tell you a little more about this church emanuel church here in charleston. it is not just historic but symbolic for a number of reasons. this is a church that was burned down some years ago by slave owners here in charleston. more than 150 years ago. it was rebuilt then in the '50s '60s '70s it was a planning site of sorts. lots of civil rights marches and rallies that happened here in charleston and south carolina the northeast a lot of rallies were planned at the church behind me. the same church that was rocked by tragedy last night around 9:00. >> the breaking news that dylann roof has been arrested. thank you very much. we are expecting to hear from the president in the next half hour. we'll be back on the air when that happens. for now, this has been an nbc news special report. we'll have much more on "nbc nightly news" tonight and much more throughout the day on nbcnews.com. >>> we've been talking about the bethel a.m.e. in society hill section, a friend of reverend pinckney, the pastor who was killed in last night's shooting. monique braxton is live a

charleston, the city of charleston, and we think that way will find the perpetrator of this crime. we applaud the coming together, the, moderate. we don't hate the police department. >> we love police officers. we want police. war is not the answer. war is not the answer. we want peace. one of the things i have seen so far is everybody praying together. everybody praying together. we will continue to do that. the one thing that we do have, is we have god on our side. >> amen. >> we are not going to turn to the streets. everybody out here has great jobs. we have elected officials, state senators coming in to provide services. we want peace. i reiterate that, we want peace. >> we want peace. >> we want answers as to why this happened. the church is a sacred place, very sacred. we have 1st baptist right next door. we are asking that the community stand as a whole to support these families. those families are grieving right now. it's very, very painful to everybody might not just african-americans, to everybody across the nation. this is very, very painful, and we ask that everybody support these families and stay together together. >> that is a description that went out a twenty-year-old white male wearing a gray hoodie blue pants. that description in a college area is probably the best they have, but it could be just about anybody. there is somebody out there who knows what happened, maybe. five five four-eleven eleven is the crimestoppers number. you always talk about snitching. is there something you would like to say to those who may know who this person is? >> what i like to say is none of those people in that church had anything to do with that evil man who decided to go with it. if you come forward now we will not see you like that, nor will we see the video of the cop shooting the officer. that has not been true. the only people who have to worry about stitches are criminals. what i call it is witnesses, witnesses. i want witnesses to tell about the crime. we are tired of this in our community. that snitching stuff is out of the door. if you see a crime happening, we need to get the evil out of our community, and we are counting on you. >> the rallying cry, if you see something, say something. we have just been told that they will have a press conference right here in about five minutes minutes. >> right now we want to bring in al sharpton, host of politics nation. he joins us by the phone. thank you for joining us. we are getting a lot of disturbing reports out of downtown charleston ear the south carolina chair of the national action network is there on the scene. what have you heard from him? >> i have heard from him that we know nine have been confirmed dead, including reverend clemente. in fact, when i was down in charleston around the killing of the young man, scott, who was killed by north charleston police, we did a prayer vigil at b.c. . i was told that the ref and was with us that day and actually prayed with us and work with our local chapter they are. certainly, 1st and foremost, our hearts are broken, and our condolences go to the family and we joining on the appeal for anyone that has any information leading to any suspect or suspects should cooperate and that there ought to be a calm, collective, unified response to this. we do not need to be defenseless violence with anything other then some clear thinking and some very peaceful resolve on how we deal with madness like this. so i am back and forth on the phone with mr. johnson, who is there on the s

night at approximately 9:05, charleston county dispatchers received a call for a shooting that occurred at the manual church on calvinist street in downtown charleston. charlestonolice units were dispatched, arrives at that location. when we did, we initially identified eight victims inside the church that had suffered gunshot wounds. earlier we told you there were two victims that were transported, there was one victim that was transferred it and that individual, we have a total of nine victims that were involved in this very tragic situation that occurred last night. there were three males and six female victims in this tragedy. as we told you last night, we have but unified command and it has been set up with the charleston police department, sheriff's office, law-enforcement division, federal bureau of investigation, alcohol, tobacco and firearms and other federal agencies working with us. we are committed, determined, definitely working with a number of agencies in the region, and one hour ago, the suspect in this case. this is a situation that is unacceptable in any society and in our society and our city. we are committed to do whatever is necessary to b

charleston. the gunman is from about 100, 125 miles away. our city is a city that is one charleston and we clearly feel that with this incident-- what this incident has done is make our one charleston more and more coming together as one. >> sreenivasan: so you've also had the unfortunate case of the walter scott shooting just a couple of months ago. what have you found in the aftermath of the-- in terms of racial tensions that might exist? >> i think so that we have to really separate. there is a difference between the city of charleston and the city of north charleston where the walter scott incident occurred. and i have a great deal of respect for mayor sumy who from the onset was very clear that that was a wrong deed that occurred and the officer who was involved should be punished accordingly. but i think it's very important to make sure that people know that these are two distinct cities-- the city of charleston and the city of north charleston. >> sreenivasan: even if you looked at your city descraetly from north charleston or the state of south carolina there seem to be these competing or conflicting facts. you have an indian american governor, an african america senator. y

charleston charleston. how do you explain the difference? >> i think the church has been there as a voice for black people so it is organized. you have older people versus very young and uneducated black people. i think everybody is learning. a lot of times people don't see racism or people have been reluctant to acknowledge racism. we have to get along. some people don't want to see there's a racial difference in america. guess what? people are seeing it. eyes are open because there's no way you can't say the kids in ferguson or baltimore, those kids are out of control. here it is hard to say people in a prayer meeting are out of control. >> no one is saying that. >> that's what i'm saying. i think there's an opportunity here to say this was rank and wrong, yes, i'm angry about it but guess what out of the most foul situation, here comes the flower of hope. >> there are few opportunities here to look at this if you look at the way people react to a muslim terrorist attack such as ft. hood they say it is workplace violence. there's not a lot of emphasis on describing even the victims. the president wouldn't even call them christians. he said it was an indiscriminate random attack. he is not calling as it is. he's trying to separate muslims from the jihad. i understand what he's trying to do. here you have a nut job who is motivated by hatred and the president calls him racist and all of a sudden white america needs to reflect. i wish the president and everybody could kind of coalesce in the way we deal with muslim jihadists in the same way we deal with this guy. >> i'm all for being honest and not engaging in some sort of pc language. workplace terrorism or anything like that. >> yeah. >> obama doesn't want to start a religious war either. he's trying to downplay that because we want to have the cooperation of other countries, but this is pretty clear. i was surprised when people didn't want to deal with the clarity. >> i want to thank you for that because that's what's coming up next. >> well thank you. >> the tragedy in south carolina has already turned political and debate over the confederate flag and gun control own the president's use of the n-word has intensified. we discuss next. >> we are standing here and sitting here this morning in faith of our fathers and mothers and in faith of the church -- you know, just because your bladder is changing it doesn't mean that you have to. ♪ with tena® let yourself go. ♪ be the one with the crazy laugh. ♪ and keep being their favorite playmate. ♪ tena®'s unique super-absorbent microbeads lock in moisture and odor, tena® - available at target [alarms blaring] ohhhhh... whoa whoa whoa! who's responsible for this?!? if something goes wrong, you find a scapegoat. ...rick. it's what you do. ahhhhhhhh! what'd you say? uh-oh! kelly! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. rick. don't walk away from me. ahhhhhhhh! when you travel, we help you make all kinds of connections. connections you almost miss. and ones you never thought you'd make. we help connect where you are. to places you never thought you'd go. this, is why we travel. and why we continue to create new technology to connect you to the people and places that matter. >>> the massacre at predominantly black church last week is sparking race relations in this country. did president obama go too far when aroundddressing the issue? >> it is incontrovertible that race relations has improved significantly during my lifetime and yours and that opportunities have opened up and attitudes have changed. yeah that is a fact. what is also true is that the legacy of slavery, jim crow discrimination in almost every institution of our lives, you know that casts a long shadow and that's still part of our dna that's passed on. we're not cured of it. racism we are not cured of clearly. and it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say [ bleep ] in public. that's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. >> the president doesn't regret saying it. african-american leaders are coming to his defense. >> i think in that instance president obama was being the professor that he used to be before he became a united states senator. when i first heard it this morning, i said to myself my lord what was he thinking about and then i saw the whole thing as you just put it. i know what he's thinking about. he's trying to give a lesson trying to teach a lesson. >> those who have been pressing obama to speak more articulately about race this is part of the pay off. this is a man who knows so much more than than he's been allowed to speak about in public places. >> it is a very powerful word obviously. does this word right now, right on the heels of charlestonnk this unites people or do you think this divides people? >> you know me well enough to know because you love hip hop i just can't stand the license that been given mostly to black musicians in using this word, saying we are reclaiming the power of the word by using it and call each other it. this is stupidity. this is an act that i think was intended to dehumanize people to suggest they are less than human. for these people to perpetuate -- and now for president obama to use it in public it's a mistake. there's a teachable moment here. he never uses that word when he's talking to me because it it would make me feel unablecomfortable and defensive. the polls indicate that white people think black people are less intelligent and trustworthy and patriotic. >> i don't know about those polls. i know the president seems to be taking an isolated incident from a psychopath racist and extrapolating to indict the entire american community to say we have racist dna. i don't know about that. kim

the deadly racially motivated shooting inside a church in charleston charleston south carolina, myrickaid to rest. her funeral was held in the very building where her life was taken from her. she leaves behind a husband and two children. thompson was 59 years old. in the wake of that deadly shooting investigators are looking into a series of fires at african-american churches in the southern part of the united states. the fires happened at places of worship in north and south carolina, in tennessee, florida and georgia. so far, investigators have found that two of the five fires were intentionally set, but no hate crimes are suspected. another is believed to have been caused by lightning. two of the church fires remain under suspicion at this point. >>> switching now to the u.s. supreme court. it has made a number of key rulings lately. on monday it upheld the use of controversial drugs for lethal injection in executions. three death row inmates brought the challenge, arguing they violate the eighth amendment ban on cruel or unusual punishment. they also put on hold a ruling to close a

charleston. [ applause ] joe's back home doing one of a mayor's sadder more important duties today. obviously the entire country has been shocked and heartbroken by what happened in charleston. the nature of this attack in a place of worship, where congregates invite in a stranger to worship with them only to be gunned down adds to the pain. the apparent motivations of the shooter remind us that racism remains a blight that we have to combat together. we have made great progress, but we have to be vigilant. because it still lingers. and when it is poisoning the minds of young people it betrays our ideals and tears our ss democracy apart. but as much as we grieve this particular tragedy, i think it is important, as i had mentioned at the white house, to step back and recognize these tragedies have become far too commonplace. few people understand the terrible toll of gun violence like mayors do. whether it is a mass shooting like in charlestondual attacks of violence that add up over time it tears at the fan rick of the community. it costs you money. and it costs resources. it costs this country dearly. more than 11,000 americans were killed by gun violence in 2013 alone. 11,000. if congress had passed some common sense gun safety reforms after newtown after a group of children had been gunned down in their own classroom. reforms that 90% of the american people supported. we wouldn't have prevented every act of violence or even most. we don't know it would have prevented what happened in charleston charleston. no reform can guarantee the elimination of violence but we might still have some more americans with us. we might have stopped one shooter. some families might still be whole. [ applause ] y'all might have to attend fewer funerals. and we should be strong enough to acknowledge. at the very least we should be able to talk about this issue as citizens. without demonizing all gun owners who are overwhelmingly law a-abidi

charleston charleston. he is an elder of mother emanuel and led sunday's services. thank you for the example that you're setting. let me ask you now about -- >> thank you. >> -- the possibility -- we know that for mayor riley this is not a new position on the flag but the possibility is that the governor may be moving to a new position according to congressman clyburn. this is what the mayor had to say today. >> it's a historical flag a piece of history, and it belongs in history museum. >> do you think that there is going to be movement and what would be the impact of a change in the position on the flag being on state grounds for your church, for your community? >> well, first of all, let me thank you for this interview and thank you, viewing audience for your prayers for emanuel church and for this community we call charleston and for the state of south carolina. as far as the flag is concerned, most certainly that will take care of itself but our focus here in charleston at this time we are still making preparation for homegoing celebration for nine members of emanuel ame church. our priority is is to begin the healing process for this community by having the services of home-going for each of our parishioners who have lost their lives in a senseless and terrorist act. >> let me ask you about some of what you were preaching. i was watching yesterday of course as was the nation and you called out the fbi, the police after this past horrible year of violence and tension and police killings and lack of understanding, baltimore, ferguson, north charleston what's happened. let me play a little bit of what you said yesterday at that service. >> finally, i want to say thank you to law enforcement. i got no problem with doing that. i want to thank them. i want to thank them because of the respect that they've show

charleston. charleston's emmanuel ame church will open its doors for worship tomorrow morning, for sunday services, with a message of love forgiveness and unity. the church will hold a service at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow this as the investigation into the senseless massacre continues. a video has just surfaced on the internet in the last hours. it lays out why charleston locked up under suicide watch, arlene in a machado has been pouring over that manifesto. what does it say? >> as you mentioned, it's racist it's also extremely disturbing and it makes very inflammatory statements not just about blacks but about other minorities. the statement is very long but there are parts of it where they could shed some light into perhaps what it was that was the turning point for dylann roof and why it was he chose the city of charleston as the target of his attack. now, again, cnn has not been able to authenticate that he is the arthur of the manifesto. i want to read part of it to you, where he refers to the author of this manifesto, refers to the trayvon martin shooting. the event that truly awakened me was the trayvon martin case. i was unable to understand what the big deal was, it was obvious that zimmerman was in the right, but more importantly, this prompted me to type in the words black on white crime and google, and i have never been the same since that

charleston charleston, south carolina and across the south and country in defense of that flag are some of the idiot i canic statements that it had nothing do with savory. it -- slavery. as the years went on and i changed my mind and politics and thinking, a lot of my outlook, that's a distorted way to view that symbol. that symbol does mean something important to some white southerners, though i would say that number is diminishing. but you cannot talk about that flag in a positive way without ignoring the overwhelmingly negative attitude that most americans and particularly black americans have toward it and for good reason. they have historical and political reasons to view the confederate flag as a symbol of racial terrorism which it was for black americans. if you look at slavery, at the kkk, if you look at jim crow, if you look at a deranged white man walking into a church in my hometown of south carolina and murdering nine people for the color of their skin and it's associated with that flag that's what they see, you can't ignore that. >> i'm amazed that you've come around the way you have. it gives me a lot of hope, actually. i'm serious because we don't all change our minds a lot in politics. it's easy to get dug in and i can almost understand -- there's almost some part of me that can understand this feeling of being kind of besieged and persecuted and wanting to hold on to this thing almost as a kind of screw you to the people that would take it from you. and you can see that psychology you can even see its appeal in this -- how did you work your way out of that? >> because that's what i think is wrong with our politics. what sort of changed my mind and my outlook, i was so concentrated and focused on being right. i'm right about this i'm right about that i'm right about the flag and not about being decent. i'm sorry, in a state like south carolina where 30% of the population is african-american and i'm running warned a confederate flag mask and being hyperbolic sometimes or often and saying all these things it's something -- i'm ashamed to look at that picture of me today wearing that mask. it's horrible. what's wrong with -- we in our politics, i don't care if you're coming from the right -- and i think the right and left do this -- of having empathy. of considering yourself from the other person's position first. there's nothing wrong with that. that's not weak, that's not selling out to the left oar selling out the the right, that's just being a decent human being. we can do that across the political spectrum and we would be a much better society. i'd also say, chris, coming from a conservative perspective, the debate we see with the confederate flag right now in south carolina to me reminds me -- it's not a microcosm but an example of the debates that upset me on my side of the ideological spectrum and the daily beast piece i noted a week before the tragic massacre in charleston i was really angry at my fellow conservatives who thought it was completely appropriate and even praiseworthy for an adult white develop throw a 14-year-old black girl in a beak keenikini and stick his knee in her back. that bothered me. i couldn't figure out why. we saw same situation with the baltimore riots and the freddie gray where a lot of people on the right automatically took the side of the police and dismissed the protesters' complaints and the things -- police brutality and things they were worried about. we saw it in ferguson we saw it with eric garner in new york city. this is not just racial issues you can talk about gay marriage and a number of other things where we don't do enough of trying to once other people are coming from and trying to be good human beings before we exert our political points. >> if anyone's watching this out there who's a republican consultant, you should hire jack hunter to talk to your candidates. jack hunter a great pleasure, thank you very mu

charleston county. -- and charleston county. there used to be a time when people thought we were the same people. because we were both tall and we were both skinny, and we were both dark. and so it was, we were at allen university at a meeting. he was a y.p.d. leader and i was a y.p.d. leader. mother james came to us, because i was a little rambunctious, from charleston pinckney was very subdued. but he would do things to get me in trouble. i would be the one who took the blame for it. and so it was that he was wreaking havoc in our section and mother james came and pinched me. i went over to him and said, who are you? he told me his name. i said, i don't like that name. [laughter] he said, what is your name? i told him my name. he said i don't like that name. from that date to this day, two awkward individuals with very strange sounding names became not only friends, we became brothers. pinckney, when we graduated from high school, through the a.m.e. connection, we were connected. we both started preaching very early. when we graduated from high school, we started talking. go to allen university. i said, pinckney you go to allen. i'm going to the college of charleston. pinckney went to allen university and i came to the college of charleston. as it was, because we were friends, i would make the trip up i-26 to columbia, south carolina, for all those

charleston. >> first of all, unanimous consent to record the words of senator campsen, senator charleston, senator jackson the senator from richland. >> without objection so ordered. >> i'd like to be heard. >> proceed. mr. campsen. >> thank you mr. president, members of the senate. i rise as the senator of district 42, the place of the charleston massacre. and i want to provide you with an update on the district on how district 42 and the surrounding areas are fairing. the citizens of charleston are resilient, strong, tenacious people. who are persevering through this great tragedy. we applaud what this body is discussing here, as my colleague, senator thurman, just mentioned, there have been several vigils. i have spoke with reverend golf last night, the presiding elder at ame church. funeral arrangements are being made. i have been in consultation with ref rand rev represented nelson rivers who is on the ground and ministering spiritual healing to the families. i want to take a moment to talk about mother emanuel. mother emanuel. senator from beaufort mother emanuel is our sanctuary. a sanctuary for the devote who through vandalism, fire, earthquake hurricane and depression sacrificed to maintain an order nant, beautiful and maintained tabernacle for the glory of god. and a sanctuary from activists who is from its august pul

charleston. charleston is better than this. they are really protective of the progress charleston has made, black or white. they are proud of their city. at the same time when they look broadly, nationally, they worry that what they have tried to do the last few years in charleston , come together and not have unrest, they see it in the country and it is back at their doorstep. john mcardle: do you think the walter scott shooting at all impacted the debate as it has played out? robert costa: i think so. there is an impetus to not let the issues of gun control or policing or anything touched by race -- to leave it to the side. to address it now. these issues are here and they cannot be avoided. john mcardle: south carolina bud is on the line. caller: good morning. i'm glad to get in. i have tried and never made it. i just wanted to tell our so-called commander in chief that it is not going un control we need, it's god control. he has done everything possible to throw god out of everywhere. the military, the schools. killing 52 million plus babies in the womb. this country will be under the judgment of god. t

she worked for the charleston county public library for 31 throughout charleston was closed today in her honor. she was the manager of one branch of the library in charleston. that branch will now be named for her. the reverend sharonda singleton. high school track and field coach. she was 49. she was also a minister at the church. she sang in the choir and had three children. depayne middleton-doctor just started a new job in college admissions this past december. she had four daughters. tyanza sanders was 16 years old, the youngest person killed. he earned a graduate degree last year. susan jackson, a long-term member of mother emanuel church, the oldest member. she's just returned from visiting her great grandchildren in cleveland. susan jackson's cousin was also killed, ethel lance. one of her seven grandkids said today she's been at the church for over 30 years. >>> woman named myra thompson was also killed, 59 years old. the reverend daniels simmons sr. survived the initial attack, the only victim who did not die at the scene but he died on the operating table at a nearby hospital. they couldn't save him. >>> the suspect in the shooting, he didn't di

charleston starts now. >> announcer: charleston church massacre. this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight from charleston south carolina, savannah guthrie. >>> good evening from this beautiful city where what unfolded just a few steps from here last night is almost too much to bear. it happened at the emanuel episcopal church mother emanuel, as everyone calls it wednesday night prayer service and bible study, all welcome, no questions asked. a young man walked in, took a seat and waited for up to an hour and then police say dylann roof stood up and started shooting. there were nine dead, one injured and countless broken hearts here. a stunning act of mass murder in a predominantly african-american house of worship and tonight it's being investigated as a hate crime. tonight, what we know about the man in custody after an all-night manhunt, the stories of quiet and good lives cut tragically short. but first, what happened when the peace was shattered here last night? our team is in place, and tonight we begin with chris jansing. >> the surveillance photos of dylann storm roof were crucial in his arrest fo

charleston. i huddled with a group of charleston county law enforcement. they told me a few minutes ago, they have leads. they have canines out in charleston. also looking in the suburbs of the city. they are not looking around the immediate area of the church. >> have there been threats, robert, to this church? this is a well known congregation. it goes all the way back to 1810. we talked about the king center tweeting a picture of dr. martin luther king jr. in the church. wednesday night prayer meeting. have there ever been threats to this church? >> reporter: not that i know of. i have spoken with church members. when you walk around the streets here, this is the sleepy south. this has palm trees on the street. a nice park on the street and gas station and convenience stores. this is a pleasant area. not an area you think of crime. people were having a prayer service here. that stunned a lot of parishioners here. >> robert, hang on a second. we will put up file picture of the emanuel african methodist church. the file footage we have is old. it is a beautiful church. this was a church that existed during slavery, by the way, for black ind

charleston's methodist episcopal church. presidential candidate jeb bush was scheduled to make an appearance in charleston thursday. that campaign stop has been canceled. once again, recapping. there has been a shooting at the emanuel ame church in downtown charleston if not the most historical african american church here in our country. city officials and the mayor there confirming nine people have died and they're calling it a hate crime. the gunman remains at large at this hour. i want to give you a description of who they believe they're looking for. a white male 21 years old, sandy blond hair clean-shaven slender. they're describing him as having a small build. blue jeans, timberland boots and a gray sweatshirt. once again this happened around 9:00. they're looking for that individual and they're asking for community members to come together and help them find him after they say he killed nine people inside a very historic church there in charleston south carolina wednesday night at 9:00. we'll update this breaking story throughout the night and throughout the morning as further details emerge. i'm jackie ibanez. now back to "hannity" which is already in progress. food stamps for ho40 months or longer. you say you'd be the biggest job preside

charleston in the '6 o0s. >> it's been a must stop for any civil rights leader going through charleston. >> everywhere you look in history, civil rights leaders from dr. king down would go to this church. it's not far from the charlestonon, not far from where mother emanuel s i think it is a must stop. i remember going to many times during my years out. and to see this church violated any church but this church with its history violated is just -- it almost is unfathomable that this would happen. and in a the killer is still at large is frightening. >> a couple other things we pointed out in our last hour was that reports say that one woman was allowed to live and that the law enforcement says this man said go tell people what i did. i wanted a witness to this. it gets uglier by the moment. joining us from charleston benjy sarlin. he was in south carolina to cover jeb bush. jeb bush cancelling the event for today. what heelse can you tell us? >> the big news is of course the most concrete information we've had yet about the suspectedunman. police are really putting this in the hands of the public right now. they released a photograph of the gunman. he is a slender a'9" while male between the ages of 20 and 25. and the

charleston we could be in greenville recruiting, charleston recruiting, in the low country area near jasper, berkeley, and those counties, recruiting. and he would still have to go back to columbia, south carolina. i said, pinckney, what i will do, i will start getting two beds. therefore, where i am, you will be also. [laughter] [applause] and so for years, pinckney lived off of me and the college of charlestoncan go and audit the books today. i don't know. i will pay them what i owe them, but me and pinckney lived good off the college of charleston. [laughter] [applause] amen. and so it is, we moved away from the recruiting and started concentrating heavily on the church scene. we had ambition. we started calling one another -- i never really knew how to pronounce his name. i said my name is kylon, like nylon. he said my name is clementa. clementay. i said i will call you pinckney. he said i will call you middleton. when we got in public, i said i will call you by your whole name. i said one day, you are going to be somebody, and i want somebody to know not only your first name but like the bishops of the church, we are going to call your whole name everywhere you go. that is how people started learning his name was carlos. amen. [laughter] that was a good laugh. [laughter] during the days before the church required theological education, i became a student at the lutheran theological south

charleston. not incidental to what charleston is. charlestonght now, it's thriving, its real estate market is thriving galleries and restaurants are thriving. there's a thriving seat for tourism and much of that is driven by visits to famous civil war sites. for a very long time in city has had a complicated relationship to that history because in some ways it's marketing that history and has to market it in such a way that doesn't essentially offend people that are easily offended by anyone suggesting that the confederacy was what it was, which was a treasonous violent army dedicated to white supremacy. >> why are people still defending it? because i notice that people are sill trying to act like this is heritage rather than as hate. >> look it's very hard for me to get inside the mind of folks that feel that way. i had a really fascinating conversation with a white woman today who is from charleston whose family came here in 1670 she told me. and she just talked about how people start to get in a kind of a defensive crouch very quickly when y

charleston, it's the tourist capital of the state, the crown jewel of the palmetto state. but it is also quite segregated. by that i mean you have charleston proper. you have the charleston featured in the magazines and on television. but you also have north charleston wowyou also have some very thick deep pockets of poverty here as well. the mayor spent a lot of time over the past few decades trying to bridge those gaps. keep in mind that this is also the same community that about a month ago and i would have to look at a calendar, but the same community that was reeling after the walter scott shooting. that shooting was 3 1/2, 4 miles from where i stand right now in north charleston. city leaders, as you know right after that right after that shooting made it a point to get out in front of it to try and prevent a civil unrest and were successful at doing that. and the sense i've gotten from community leaders and just regular people as well who stopped by our camera this morning, the sense i've gotten is that this is going to be something else that this community deals with and grows from. but this is not going to be something that manages to tear apart charleston. goin

charleston south carolina as we continue our coverage and wrap that up here. just to keep you up to date on what we're expecting here in the next five minutes. a news conference from the charleston coroner to update us on the identities of the nine victims killed in that horrific shooting there in charlestoncycle." that's coming up next. her efforts are helping to support her research and the animals she cares so deeply about. for more watch your business on msnbc. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. take zzzquil and sleep like... you haven't seen your bed in days. no, like you haven't seen a bed in weeks! zzzquil. the non habit forming sleep-aid that helps you sleep easily and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ♪ ♪ time upon a once people approached problems the way same. always start at the starting. and questions the same asking. but that only resulted in improvements small. so we step a to

charleston itself, i have been there plenty of times. there are lots of great, great people there. that is not what charleston is about. people are praying for charleston and praying for the rest of the country so we can put an end to this. how do we do that? that's my last question to you. it's a big one? >> i think again we take this opportunity to really come together to pray for one another and to really get to know one another, to listen to one another and grieve with one another. it is so important. as a church leader i want to encourage all churches to come together so we can live out christ's goal. >> reverend thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you heather. >> he showed off the gun weeks ago. justin saying his parents took the weapon away but he stole it back to them. >> he told me his mom didn't know he had the gun. >> but it was at first his gun and his mother had taken from him. >> yeah. it was his mom but his mom took it from d canylann. >> why did she take it if it was his gun? >> because his mom don't trust him with it. >> his brother believes the entire attack was motivated racism. >> it was a race thing. he told me that he -- th

though this was considered the frontier, it was connected to charleston and if you know anything about charleston during this time, you know charleston was a port city connected to not just the rest of the colonies, but the rest of the transatlantic world. it was connected to europe, to africa, to the caribbean, and of course the other colonies. i make that point because it's important to understand the waxhaw's region was a region in the backcountry, but people moved back-and-forth from charleston to waxhaw. to think about this community as being isolated and backwards does not give a good testament to how connected it is to charleston. it's important to understand to be attuned to what is happening in charleston. during the revolution, jackson loses much of his family. he loses in older brother during a battle during the revolutionary war and his other brother and mother died from disease. by the time jackson is an early adolescent, jackson does not have any immediate family. he has ants, uncles, cousins. he decides he is going to leave the waxhaws for self carolina to try to make it there. only think about jackson, the thing to un

charleston. in 2000, charleston mayor lead a march to columbia calling for the flag to be removed from the top of the capitol dome. the protest lead to a compromise that moved the flag from the dome to its current location. but the deal requires a two-thirds majority in both houses to make any changes. political leaders say there are a growing number of lawmakers in favor of removing the flag but the sons of confederate veterans say it will fight to keep it. the group issued a statement saying in part: but some political leaders say removing the flag is only the start, and that there is more work to be done. >> reporter: it will not solve the racial divide in south carolina. we need a positive discourse on the problems that continue to playing our state. >> reporter: del walters, al jazeera, charlestonth carolina. >>> the debate over the confederate flag is also brewing in mississippi. the republican speaker of the state legislature says it is time to consider making the emblem off of the state flag. it is the first time a republican-elected official in the state has publicly called for its removal. but the governor says the flag should stay because mississippi voters approved it four years ago. >>> the nation's largest retailer, also taking a standing on this issue. wal-mart tells al jazeera it is removing all confederate flag-related merchandise from its stores and website. in a statement the company said we never want to offend anyone with the products we offer. at times items make their way into our assortment improperly and this is one of those instances. sears has also announced it will stop selling products bearing the confederate flag. >>> some greek lawmakers are reacting angerly to the proposal on their debt payment. >> reporter: if greece ends up accepting that creditors

charleston. >> in charleston it's also broken hearts in america. >> reporter: when who lost family members just had to be there. >> my grandfather loved charleston. to see what an example they have been to the nation his heart would be so full. >> reporter: across the city bells tolled at many of the other historic churches for nine minutes, one for each victim. >> club the church where the alleged shooter wore shipped. >> we stand at amazing for the gift of forgives in that they have already expressed in an open way. >> more disturbing images surfaces of dylann roof posing with guns conphet rad flag at many sites dedicated to the history of the confederacy. there's also a manifesto that perhaps laid out his motive. it has not been verified by nbc news, with passages including, quote, someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and i guess it has to be me. his apparently passion has inspired a moveon.org petition. >> the petition calls for the battle flag, calling it an emblip of rebellion and racism. >>> to this developing story now, two escaped killers on the run may be within the grasp of law enforcement officers finally. inv

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 charlestoning 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

integration integration. >> charleston is great for tourists because they love their tourists but if you are black in charleston it's not a good place to be. >> i feel like charlestone to live i love living here but there are definitely a lot of underlying issues that we have and unfortunately they are just not talked about. >> it's a beautiful place with a lot of history and you only see that. you see the glitz and the glam glam glamour. >> i always felt like somebody might be waiting to kill me those are the kind of thoughts that i've been through for so long. >> i feel like this problem can be fixed many ways. it starts with my generation stepping up to the plate and saying we're not going to put up with this our grandparents might have our parents might have it's time for us to really buckle down and fix some things. >> one of the things i wanted to be all my life since about 12, 13 years old is to be a money, not a black man. i want to be a man. there's no way i can ever be a man in charleston south carolina. i would always be a boy in this system. >> it's a very interesting city. spending time there after this shooting personally you know when i think about t

if you can't get out of charleston -- you can't get out of charleston without his help.to join at the exit behind the order in which i listed. thank you. thank you so much. >> to the reverend president -- [laughter] >> mrs. obama, vice president biden, dr. biden, on behalf of mrs. pinckney and her two daughters and the family, i want to thank you for your presence today, but also for your cards and letters. we do not have the opportunity to make individual expressions at this time, but they have seen the letters and flowers, and we thank you so very much for your prayers and concerns for this family during the hours of bereavement. those thinly members -- family members who will be running with us to marion, south carolina after the immediate family is transported to limousines, we invite you to go out this exit where secret service and security officials will take you to the georgia street exit, so that you may go quickly to your cars. we will wait 15 minutes on the corner of meeting and lee street. then we will process together to marion, south carolina for the middle

charleston church massacre is expected to have a court hearing this afternoon. dylann roof was arrested in north carolina yesterday brought back to south carolina. >> nbc's dave wagner is live in charleston. dave, give us an update of what's going on. >> reporter: good morning from charlestonouth carolina here. i am across from emanuel ame church right here. this is the church where nine people were gunned down. much of the police tape has been removed. yesterday was a crime scene, today it's become really a memorial. there are flower all over here including the ribbons for the nine vicks. the suspect as you mentioned is back here in charleston will be in court today. a community vigil is planned tonight. this community is really still reeling. this is a tight-knit community, a proud community. this is one of the darkest chapter's in the city's 335-year history. it's really a tremendously tough time for them. that is the latest coming in from charleston, south carolina. back to you. >> dave wagner working for us in charleston this morning. >>> many churches are reconsidering safety after that shooting. >> yes, that includes churches right here in our area. a pastor at the zion ame church in philadelphia's point breeze section met with church members yesterday to talk about

charleston. >> let us allow words to be recorded in the journal. >> so ordered. >> god bless the state of south carolina. >> proceed. senator from charleston. mr. campson. >> cs lewis said to be a christian means to forgive the inexcusable because god has forgiven the inexcusable in you. it means to forgive the inexcusable, because god has forgiven the inexcusable in you. i want you to reflect upon that as you listen to the rest of my remarks. sunday evening while participating in the bridge to peace event, my sister witnessed an act that encapsulates charleston's reaction to this brutal -- the church murders. while people held hands across the bridge, a man stretched his arms to heaven and declared, " this is how we ride it -- riot in charleston appear code keep hern." i am proud of my hometown. and the victims'families with their statements of forgiveness and charity toward the murder er of their loved ones personifies why we should be checked -- proud of charleston. the response to this horrific event is inexplicable in human terms and it is not until i reflect upon this quote by cs lewis, to be a christian means to forgive the inexcusable because god has forgiven the inexcusable in you reflect upon that quote can you make any sense of their actions at all. their response is a christian response. it flows from the gospels message of sin separating us from a holy god christ paying the penalty for these sins and offering reconciliation with god . understanding that they have been forgiven of much empowers the forgiven to literally forgive. whe

charleston. thank you. >>> president obama is keeping a close eye on the situation in charleston. late friday he told the nation's mayors he refuses to accept the kind of gun violence that we saw this week in charleston as the new normal. kristen welker has more for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. for all of the anger and sorrow here in washington right now, there still seems to be very little appetite to take action legislatively. president obama, who once vowed to change washington, has seamingly on this issue like many others resigned himself to the fact that change just might be impossible.emingly on this issue like many others resigned himself to the fact that change just might be impossible. as the nation comes to grips with another mass shooting president obama is again expressing his outrage. >> every country has violent, hateful, or mentally unstable people. what's different is not every people is awash with easily accessible guns. >> even jon stewart channelled his frustrations in unusually somber remarks. >> i honestly have nothing, other than just sadness, once again, that we have to peer into the abyss of the depraved violence that we do to each other. >> reporter: st

charleston church massacre due in court later today. police sadiey that dylann roof went on a rampage murdering nine in cold blood. >> ainsley is live in charleston and has been following breaking developments including what he confessed to police. great work there ainsley. what do we know now? >> reporter: he confessed. we're told by the public information office for the police department here that he wants to start a race war. that goes along side what his friends are saying that he wanted to start a civil war, planning this attack six months. as we were starting this i saw a family walking up with flowers. i assume they're going to put them down. the city of charlestonse nine were killed in the basement of this church you see behind me at bible study wednesday. as we look at moments before the bullets started to fly, i want to show you a snap chat video one of the victims put on social media. the gunman is sitting at the able on the right side. after sitting there an hour he started venting about african-americans saying quote, you're taking over our country. i have to do what i have to do. he pulls out a gun and killed nine. what's ironic about this this is the church community, reverend people there welcomed him in. the state senator says he's not surprised. >> those people are the kindest people you'll want to meet. didn't surprise me they would welcome anybody and take the opportunity to share their own love. >> the suspect's uncle said the father gave him the gun for his 21st birthday in april. the mother we're hearing from are friends, is that she did not approve of a that and wanted to take the gun from him. joe meek long time friend of the s

charleston, but all over the state as well. >> craig melvin in charleston for us. we'll be back with you throughout the show. let's head now to dave wagner, also in charleston. walk us through what happened last night that ultimately led to such a tragic ending. >> reporter: well, it started -- i apologize for my voice. it started around an hour, maybe 8:00 or so, an hour before the actual shootings when the suspect, according to police, went to the church asked to speak to the senior pastor there, and then sat down with the bible study group. so he sat with them for an hour. and then an hour later, ended uptaking their lives. he shot eight people. an additional person taken to the hospital. that person died as well. i did obtain a picture, we interviewed just a short while ago, a man named malcolm graham. malcolm is a former north carolina state senator. he lost his sister in the shootings here. i want to show you a picture of her to get a sense of what a vibrant woman she was. her name was cynthia hurd. she was a librarian here in charleston. she also worked for the charleston housing authority. when they're mother died she became kind of the maternal perso