earlier we told you that there were two victims that were transported to musc.here was actually one victim that was transported to musc and that individual is deceased as well. >> reporter: confirmed among the dead is the church pastor pickney and father and married of two is a democratic state senator who campaigned for police body cameras. >> influence of church and a great loss to the community and others. >> reporter: they asked to pass out the wanted poster with the public help to find the main suspect and a younger white male 5'9" with a slender build. >> he has only distinctive sweatshirt that has markings and i would point out also the vehicle you will see has a distinctive front license plate. >> reporter: police chief and mayor say they believe this is a hate crime. >> this is an unfathomable and unspeakable act by somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind. >> reporter: overnight officers blocked off streets and warned people to stay in doors or away from the downtown area as the search for the shooter went on by ground and by air. >> these pe

there was actually one victim that was transported to musc. and that individual is deceased as well. so we have a total of nine victims that were involved in this very tragic situation. >> the quality of work of our law enforcement agencies has been inspiring. this is an unfathomable and unspeakable act by somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind. as the chief said this person is dangerous. we need every tip we can get to bring this person into custody as soon as possible. and of course we'll make sure that he pays the price for this horrible act. >> we cannot stress this enough. police are in dire need of any and all informing. the smallest tip is welcome. they're encouraging the public to call into 911 if you have any information about this shooting. take a good look at the images we're putting up on your screen right now. this suspect described as 21 years old, 5'9" a distinctive haircut, a distinctive license plate as well arriving at the scene in a black four-door sedan. they're casting a wide net to look for this man who left n

earlier we told you that there were two victims that were transported to musc. there was actually one victim that was transported to musc and that individual is deceased as well. so we have a total of nine victims that were involved in this very tragic situation that occurred last night. the victims, there were three males and six female victims in this tragedy. as we told you last night, we have a unified command that has been set up that is comprised of the charleston police department the charleston sheriff's office state law enforcement division federal bureau of investigations alcohol, tobacco and firearms and other agencies that are 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 one hour ago that is the suspect in this case. this is a situation that is unacceptable in any society, and especially in our society and our city. we are committed to do whatever is necessary to bring this individual to

earlier we told you that there were two victims that were transported to musc. was actually one victim that was transported to musc and that individual is deceased as well. >> reporter: confirmed among the dead was the church pastor he was also a democrat police senator who campaigned for police body cameras. >> the loss of the senator is just a great loss to the community, along with all of the others. >> reporter: earlier police summoned the media, seeking help in identifying the main suspect. >> as you will see, he has on a very distinctive sweatshirt and the vehicle has a very distinctive front license plate. >> reporter: the police chief and the mayor say they believe this is a hate crime. >> this is unfathomable and unspeakable act. somebody filled with hate and -- and with a deranged mind. >> reporter: overnight officers blocked off streets and warned people to stay in doors or away from the downtown area as the search for the shooter went on by ground and by air. >> these people were in church. in church! and they violated the sangctity of that. >> repor

two individuals were transferred to musc. one of them has died. at this point we have nine victims in this heinous crime that has been committed. right now we are working with all of our partners. we have members of charleston police department, the charleston county sheriff's department, sled the fbi and many other, the atf and many other federal agencies are here. we have a unified command that is working this investigation. we have investigators out tracking leads and we will continue to do that until we find this individual who has carried out this crime tonight and bring him to justice. we are looking for a white male proximately 21 years old, sandy blond hair and he obviously is extremely dangerous and what we are asking is that if anyone in the community has information about this particular individual that he contact law enforcement immediately. we have all of the resources available to us not only locally but from the state and federal agencies. we have resources being flown in from washington d.c. that will help us not only track leads b

two individuals were transported to musc. one of them has died. point, we have nine victims in this hideous crime that has been committed. right now, we are working with all of our partners. we have members of the charleston police department, charleston county sheriffs department, s.l.e.d., the fbi and many other, the atf and many other federal agencies are here. we have a unified command that is working this investigation. we have investigators that are out tracking leads that are coming in. we will continue to do that until we find this individual who has carried out this crime tonight and bring him to justice. we are looking for a white male, approximately 21 years old, sandy blond hair, and he obviously is extremely dangerous. what we are asking is anyone in the community has information about this particular individual, that you contact law enforcement immediately. we have all of the resources that are available to us, not only locally but from the state, as well as federal agencies. we have resources that are being flown in right now from w

two individuals were transported to the musc. one of them has died. this point, we have nine victims in this hideous crime that has been committed. right now we are working with all of our partners. we have members of charleston police department the charleston police department the fbi, and many other, the atf and many other federal agencies are here. we have a unified command that is working this investigation. we have investigators that are out tracking leads that are coming in. and we will continue to do that until we find this individual who has carried out this crime tonight and bring him to justice. we are looking for a white male approximately 21 years old. sandy blond hair and he obviously is extremely dangerous. and what we are asking if anyone in the community has information about this particular individual that he contact law enforcement immediately. we have all the resources that are available to us not only locally, but from the state as well as federal agencies. we have resources that are being flown in right now from washington, d.c.

two individuals were transported to the musc. one of them has died.point, we have nine victims in this heinous crime that has been committed. right now we are working with all of our partners. we have members of charleston the charleston county sheriff's department sled the fbi and many other, the atf and many other federal agencies are here. we have a unified command that is working this investigation. we have investigators that are out tracking leads that are coming in. and we will continue to do that until we find this individual who has carried out this crime tonight and bring him to justice. we are looking for a white male approximately 21 years old, sandy blond hair. and he obviously is extremely dangerous. what we're asking is if anyone in the community has information about this individual that he contact law enforcement immediately. we have all the resources that are available to us not only locally, but from the state as well as federal agencies. we have resources that are being flown in from washington, d.c. that will help us not only track

two individuals were transferred to the musc one of them has died.e that has been committed. >> nbc news has learned that south carolina state senator clementa pinckney is among the dead. he was the senior pastor of the church. there are survivors, but police did not say how many. police say the suspect is a white man in his early 20s with sandy blonde hair. authorities also confirmed that the fbi is involved in the investigation. >> i do believe this was a hate crime. >> the city's mayor is appealing for unity. >> one hateful person that did these dastardly deeds, one hateful person so all of the rest of us need to work to help find this person give the police any leads you might find and then give love and support -- >> and help from the voice of the lord. >> while police continue the search for the gunman many community members huddled together in prayer. dave wagner nbc news. >>> the shooting in south carolina has caused some 2016 candidates to change course. presidential candidate hillary clinton had a campaign event in south carolina yesterday,