Gunman storms church, kills nine

Nine people were killed when a white gunman entered a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire, the city’s police chief said on Thursday.

One other person was wounded and taken to a hospital, Chief Gregory Mullen told reporters about four hours after the shooting on Wednesday evening.

Several members of the community gathered holding hands and prayed for the victims of the shooting in an impromptu prayer circle near the church.

The website for the church said it has one of the largest and oldest black congregations in the region.

Describing the shooting as a hate crime, Mullen said: “It is unfathomable that somebody in today’s society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives.”

He also said that an all-clear had been sounded after an earlier bomb threat in the area of the church.