Charleston, South Carolina Church Shooting Wednesday June 17,2015

Nine people have been shot dead at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, and a hunt is under way for a white gunman.

 Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015

Six women and three men, including the pastor, died in the attack.The church's pastor, state Senator Clementa Pinckney, is reported to be among the dead.

Police described the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church as a "hate crime"

A prayer meeting was going on at the time of the shooting at about 21:00 local time on Wednesday (01:00 GMT Thursday) at the church in Calhoun Street.
Police described the suspect as white, aged 21-25, clean shaven with a slender build and wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots.
They released images from surveillance cameras showing him at the church, and also of a black four-door saloon car he was seen driving away in.

They issued surveillance images of the suspect and said he had sat in the church for an hour before opening fire

Dylann Roof(21)of Lexington, South Carolina, was detained during a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina

After a court appearance on Thursday June 18,2015, Dylann Roof waived his right to extradition and was flown back to South Carolina.

Prayers have been held across the United States after the killing of nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina

Escorted by staff and security, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (C) moves from one television interview to another across from the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church June 19, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. Haley called for the death penalty for Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, if he is found guilty of murdering nine people during a prayer meeting at the church Wednesday night. Among the dead is the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of the church which, according to the National Park Service, is the oldest black congregation in America south of Baltimore

The Emanuel AME Church

• Oldest African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in US south
• Referred to as "Mother Emanuel"
• Roots stem from group of free blacks and slaves in 1791
• Denmark Vesey - one of the founders - was a leader of a failed slave revolt in 1822
• Rebuilt in 1891, replacing church damaged by 1886 earthquake
• Civil rights leader Martin Luther King gave a speech at the church in April 1962