Charleston Church Massacre

People

Clementa C. Pinckney; Cynthia Graham Hurd; Susie Jackson; Ethel Lee Lance; DePayne Middleton Doctor; Tywanza Sanders; Daniel Simmons Sr.; Sharonda Coleman Singleton; Myra Thompson; Dylan Roof

Outcome

unknown

On the evening of June 17, 2015, a white supremacist gunman killed nine Black worshippers during a Bible study session at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The massacre was a racially motivated act of domestic terrorism targeting one of the oldest and most historically significant Black churches in the South. Among the victims was the church's senior pastor and South Carolina State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, who had recently led rallies following the police killing of Walter Scott and advocated for police body camera legislation. The gunman, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, entered the church and was welcomed by congregants to join their Wednesday night Bible study. He sat with the group for nearly an hour before pulling out a .45-caliber Glock pistol at the close of the session while members were in prayer. Roof fired more than 70 shots, killing nine people. He later confessed that he wanted the murders to start a race war and had specifically targeted the historically Black congregation, which was founded in 1816 and had a history of civil rights activism dating back to Denmark Vesey's planned slave uprising in 1822. Roof fled the scene but was captured the following morning in Shelby, North Carolina, 243 miles away. On June 19, 2015, at his bond hearing via video conference, family members of the victims addressed Roof, and several publicly forgave him—a moment that drew national attention. Roof was charged with nine counts of murder and a firearms charge. On July 7, 2015, he was indicted on federal hate crime and civil rights violation charges. On December 15, 2016, he was found guilty on all 33 federal counts. On January 10, 2017, Roof was sentenced to death on the federal charges, becoming the first person sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. On April 10, 2017, he was sentenced to nine consecutive life sentences without parole on the state charges. The massacre sparked nationwide protests and renewed calls for removing Confederate monuments and symbols. On July 10, 2015, the South Carolina General Assembly voted to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds, where it had flown since 1961. President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy at Reverend Pinckney's funeral on June 26, 2015, at the College of Charleston's basketball arena before approximately 5,000 attendees, memorably leading the congregation in singing "Amazing Grace." Prior to the funeral, Pinckney's body lay in state at the South Carolina State House—the first African American to receive this honor. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a multi-million dollar settlement with plaintiffs who alleged the FBI was negligent in failing to prevent Roof from purchasing the firearm used in the attack.