On This Day. We Embrace. Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston, killing nine people, including the pastor, in an assault authorities described as a hate crime. The suspect attended the meeting at the church Wednesday night and stayed for nearly an hour before the deadly gunfire erupted, Police Chief Greg Mullen said. The shooter remained at large Thursday morning and police released photographs from surveillance video of a suspect and a possible getaway vehicle