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| Charleston church remembers shooting victims with service of sadness and joy | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Related: Republicans cautious on Confederate flag that 'clearly divides people' | Related: Republicans cautious on Confederate flag that 'clearly divides people' |
| When the names of the nine shooting victims were read out in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church on Sunday, most people in the congregation were staring at the floor. | When the names of the nine shooting victims were read out in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church on Sunday, most people in the congregation were staring at the floor. |
| Beneath their feet, directly under the pews, was the basement where just four days before a white supremacist spent an hour with a Bible study group and then stood up, removed a gun from his fanny pack and opened fire. | Beneath their feet, directly under the pews, was the basement where just four days before a white supremacist spent an hour with a Bible study group and then stood up, removed a gun from his fanny pack and opened fire. |
| “We’re reminded this morning about the freshness of death,” said Norvel Goff, the elder who led the service in place of pastor Clementa Pinckney, one of those killed on Wednesday. “It comes like a thief in the night.” | “We’re reminded this morning about the freshness of death,” said Norvel Goff, the elder who led the service in place of pastor Clementa Pinckney, one of those killed on Wednesday. “It comes like a thief in the night.” |
| Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old who has been charged over the massacre, is said to have told friends he wanted to start a race war. | Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old who has been charged over the massacre, is said to have told friends he wanted to start a race war. |
| Instead, the shooting spree he is accused of perpetrating achieved the opposite, bringing together black and white churchgoers who so often worship apart in a state as racially segregated as South Carolina. | Instead, the shooting spree he is accused of perpetrating achieved the opposite, bringing together black and white churchgoers who so often worship apart in a state as racially segregated as South Carolina. |
| A mixed crowd of worshippers walked up the church’s white steps, past a sign saying “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, after doors were opened for the first time since the shooting. | A mixed crowd of worshippers walked up the church’s white steps, past a sign saying “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, after doors were opened for the first time since the shooting. |
| The Emanuel church, founded in 1816, is the oldest black church south of Baltimore and has been at the forefront of America’s racial injustices through the years, hosting slave insurrectionists one century and civil rights leaders the next. | The Emanuel church, founded in 1816, is the oldest black church south of Baltimore and has been at the forefront of America’s racial injustices through the years, hosting slave insurrectionists one century and civil rights leaders the next. |
| Yet this week’s massacre was brutal even by historical standards, and resulted in a Sunday service like no other. | Yet this week’s massacre was brutal even by historical standards, and resulted in a Sunday service like no other. |
| The church was filled to bursting, with hundreds lined up in pews and balconies. Many, many more were were gathered outside in 36C (96F) heat, wiping away sweat and tears as the sermon echoed out of the church through loudspeakers. | The church was filled to bursting, with hundreds lined up in pews and balconies. Many, many more were were gathered outside in 36C (96F) heat, wiping away sweat and tears as the sermon echoed out of the church through loudspeakers. |
| Inside, for what must have been the first time in the church’s history, armed police lined the walls, creating silhouettes against the stained-glass windows. | Inside, for what must have been the first time in the church’s history, armed police lined the walls, creating silhouettes against the stained-glass windows. |
| The congregation broke out in a hymn, spontaneously. It was the start of a service that was solemn at one turn and almost defiantly joyful the next, as congregants shouted approval when preachers suggested they should not be cowed in the face of the week’s atrocity. | The congregation broke out in a hymn, spontaneously. It was the start of a service that was solemn at one turn and almost defiantly joyful the next, as congregants shouted approval when preachers suggested they should not be cowed in the face of the week’s atrocity. |
| One moment, there would be euphemistic references to “that horrible situation” or “heinous act” that had taken the lives of nine dedicated members of the church who would otherwise have been sat beside their family. Some relatives of those killed had to be escorted from the hall, overcome by grief and unable to stand. | One moment, there would be euphemistic references to “that horrible situation” or “heinous act” that had taken the lives of nine dedicated members of the church who would otherwise have been sat beside their family. Some relatives of those killed had to be escorted from the hall, overcome by grief and unable to stand. |
| The next moment, there were jokes about Father’s Day, and a routine message of support for a member of the church undergoing medical treatment. | The next moment, there were jokes about Father’s Day, and a routine message of support for a member of the church undergoing medical treatment. |
| When a gospel choir, aided by trumpet and piano, began an upbeat rendition of Jesus Said You Can Lean on Me, people lifted their arms, swayed and danced. The response was so impassioned that the floorboards began to shake. | When a gospel choir, aided by trumpet and piano, began an upbeat rendition of Jesus Said You Can Lean on Me, people lifted their arms, swayed and danced. The response was so impassioned that the floorboards began to shake. |
| Related: The Charleston shooting victims: a poet, a politician, a librarian, women of faith | Related: The Charleston shooting victims: a poet, a politician, a librarian, women of faith |
| One custodian said he and others had spent the night cleaning the basement, washing the floor and walls and covering the bullet holes in anticipation of visits to the scene of death from relatives of the victims. | One custodian said he and others had spent the night cleaning the basement, washing the floor and walls and covering the bullet holes in anticipation of visits to the scene of death from relatives of the victims. |
| When Goff read out the names of the victims, who were aged between 26 and 87, he gave only the briefest description of their deaths. | When Goff read out the names of the victims, who were aged between 26 and 87, he gave only the briefest description of their deaths. |
| “There they were in the house of the Lord,” he said, “studying your word, praying with one another, but the devil also entered and the devil was trying to take charge.” | “There they were in the house of the Lord,” he said, “studying your word, praying with one another, but the devil also entered and the devil was trying to take charge.” |
| Roof, who spent Sunday in a jail less than seven miles from the church, has reportedly confessed to the massacre. | Roof, who spent Sunday in a jail less than seven miles from the church, has reportedly confessed to the massacre. |
| Relatives of the three survivors – two of whom escaped with their lives by playing dead – have provided reporters with harrowing accounts of events that unfolded around 9pm on Wednesday. | Relatives of the three survivors – two of whom escaped with their lives by playing dead – have provided reporters with harrowing accounts of events that unfolded around 9pm on Wednesday. |
| Roof was welcomed by the Bible study group and according to one report, citing law enforcement officials, almost considered abandoning his alleged killing spree because the group treated him with such kindness. | Roof was welcomed by the Bible study group and according to one report, citing law enforcement officials, almost considered abandoning his alleged killing spree because the group treated him with such kindness. |
| He is believed to have shot the pastor first. When members of the Bible study group pleaded with the suspect to show them mercy, Roof is said to have replied: “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. You have to go.” | He is believed to have shot the pastor first. When members of the Bible study group pleaded with the suspect to show them mercy, Roof is said to have replied: “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. You have to go.” |
| Another report said that after killing the nine worshippers, Roof turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger, but discovered he had run out of ammunition. He was arrested the following day, 200 miles away in North Carolina. | Another report said that after killing the nine worshippers, Roof turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger, but discovered he had run out of ammunition. He was arrested the following day, 200 miles away in North Carolina. |
| By Friday, Roof was in a Charleston courtroom, for a bond hearing at which he was forced to listen to relatives of his alleged victims express their suffering and, one by one, offer him forgiveness. | By Friday, Roof was in a Charleston courtroom, for a bond hearing at which he was forced to listen to relatives of his alleged victims express their suffering and, one by one, offer him forgiveness. |
| Related: Dylann Roof: FBI probes website and manifesto linked to Charleston suspect | Related: Dylann Roof: FBI probes website and manifesto linked to Charleston suspect |
| All the evidence suggests that was the last message Roof wanted to hear. A manifesto the FBI believes Roof may have written and posted online, beside photographs of him wielding guns and Confederate flags, suggests he believed he was some kind of martyr for his superior race. | All the evidence suggests that was the last message Roof wanted to hear. A manifesto the FBI believes Roof may have written and posted online, beside photographs of him wielding guns and Confederate flags, suggests he believed he was some kind of martyr for his superior race. |
| “I have no choice,” the apparent manifesto states, complaining “there are no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet”. | “I have no choice,” the apparent manifesto states, complaining “there are no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet”. |
| “Someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world,” it says, “and I guess that has to be me.” | “Someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world,” it says, “and I guess that has to be me.” |
| The manifesto adds: “I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country.” | The manifesto adds: “I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country.” |
| On Sunday, Goff urged the congregation to stand firm in the face of provocation from a man he referred to only as “the perpetrator”. | On Sunday, Goff urged the congregation to stand firm in the face of provocation from a man he referred to only as “the perpetrator”. |
| “A lot of folk expected us to do something strange and break out in a riot. Well, they just don’t know us,” he said. “Because we are a people of faith and we believe that when we put our forces and heads together working for a common good, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish in the name of Jesus.” | “A lot of folk expected us to do something strange and break out in a riot. Well, they just don’t know us,” he said. “Because we are a people of faith and we believe that when we put our forces and heads together working for a common good, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish in the name of Jesus.” |
| He added: “It has been tough. It’s been rough. Some of us have been downright angry. But through it all, God has sustained us and has encouraged us. Let us not grow weary.” | He added: “It has been tough. It’s been rough. Some of us have been downright angry. But through it all, God has sustained us and has encouraged us. Let us not grow weary.” |