Hundreds mourn in US church
Balloons, bouquets and hymns for nine victims killed in Charleston shooting massacre
HUNDREDS of people flocked to the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston yesterday as it reopened its doors to worshippers just days after a gunman shot dead nine black church members.
Outside the church, the oldest African-American congregation in the southern United States, bouquets, teddy bears and balloons covered the sidewalk while hundreds of people lined up to mourn, sing hymns and leave memorials.
Thousands of hand-written messages covered white banners at the church’s entrance, reading “God Bless” or “Thank you Sen Rev Clementa Pinckney. You will 4ever be an inspiration,” referring to the church’s pastor, a state senator who was one of the victims.
City officials, religious leaders and mourners have said yesterday’s services at Emanuel church would mark a small step towards healing after the latest US mass shooting, which has again trained a spotlight on the nation’s pervasive and divisive issues of race relations and gun crime.
Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old suspect, remains in jail charged with nine counts of murder.
Authorities say he spent an hour in an evening Bible study group at the church, nicknamed “Mother Emanuel” for its key role in African-American history, before opening fire on Wednesday night.
Federal investigators were examining a chilling website apparently created by Roof, which emerged on Saturday, in which he rails against African Americans and appears in photographs with guns, burning the US flag.
Texts posted included a racist manifesto and an “explanation” for taking unspecified action. “I chose Charleston because it is the most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country.
“We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet,” it said.
“Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.”
The massacre has reignited a debate over gun control in a country where the right to own firearms is constitutionally protected.
Outside Emanuel church yesterday, security was tight as police patrolled with a bomb dog to sniff through the growing piles of flowers, balloons, toys and signs.
Below the church programme board, a poster covered in pink and white hearts and silver stars read: “We are all in this together & we will shine on.” A picture of multi-coloured hands marks the middle of the card.
Monte Talmadge, a US Navy veteran, 63, drove nearly 480km from Raleigh, North Carolina, to offer his condolences. – Reuters, AFP