By EMS1 Staff
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston police say nine people have been killed in a shooting at a historic black church in what authorities intend to investigate as a hate crime. The suspect in the shooting is still at large.
Police Chief Greg Mullen says eight people were found dead Wednesday at Emanuel AME Church and another person died later at the hospital, according to the Associated Press.
Police responded to a report of a shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church at 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
“It’s really bad. It’s a very bad scene,” local pastor Thomas Dixon told CNN.
The suspect is a white male about 21-years-old, and is wearing a grey sweatshirt or hoodie, blue jeans and Timberland boots, officials said.
Reports indicate that Clementa Pinckney, the church pastor and Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, was at the church at the time of the shooting and may be among the casualties.
UPDATE: Police confirm bomb threat at scene of downtown Charleston shooting http://t.co/mJZAd2CmYt #chsnews pic.twitter.com/599qP94Gk2
— Live5News (@Live5News) June 18, 2015