Roster of grief

NDESCRIBABLE.” “Unfathomable.” “Beyond incomprehensible.” Charleston officials struggled on Thursday morning to find words to describe the shooting at an African-American church in which nine people were killed.

They were not alone. Much of America grappled with the calculated murder of people gathered for prayer in a house of worship.

That the gunman was apparently motivated by racial hatred sharpened the horror.

The first response must be to think of the victims, their families and their community. Six women and three men were killed, and at least one person was injured by the white assailant, who sat through an hour of the service, then opened fire, allegedly making racial comments.

It was also natural for there to be relief that the suspect, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, was quickly apprehended. That a person so young could feel – and act out – such hatred is a sad reminder that the US is far from closing the book on racial division.

Equally perverse is how easy it is for guns to fall into the wrong hands. Good that both the Charleston mayor and President Obama gave voice to that issue. The president appeared weary, and little wonder, considering how often he has had to speak to the nation after mass shootings: 13 people killed in Binghamton; 13 killed and another 30 shot at Fort Hood in Texas; 12 killed and 58 wounded in a Colorado movie theatre; 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School pupils and six teachers killed. And many more.

Expanding the background checks or shutting down unscrupulous gun dealers would not prevent every incident, but they are sensible steps to reduce the violence. But, as Obama said, “the politics of this town foreclose a lot of those avenues”. So instead of acting, we add more names to a roster of grief.