{"id":126779,"date":"2015-06-21T08:35:22","date_gmt":"2015-06-21T08:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=126779"},"modified":"2015-06-21T08:35:22","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T08:35:22","slug":"charleston-mourns-begins-healing-after-church-massacre-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=126779","title":{"rendered":"Charleston mourns, begins healing after church massacre [Photos]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mourners were expected to flock to the Emanuel African Methodist Church in the historic U.S. city of Charleston as it reopens for worship on Sunday, days after a gunman shot nine black church members to death during a Bible study group.<\/p>\n

\"Allen
Allen and Georgette Sanders bring flowers to pay their respects outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 20, 2015, three days after a mass shooting which left nine people dead during a bible study at the church. REUTERS\/Brian Snyder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arriving from around the United States on Saturday to pay respects to those killed, they created makeshift memorials as a small step toward healing from the latest U.S. mass shooting, which has again trained a spotlight on the nation’s pervasive and divisive issues of race relations and gun crime.<\/p>\n

\"Patricia
Patricia Bailey prays at a makeshift memorial outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 20, 2015, three days after a mass shooting which left nine people dead during a bible study at the church. REUTERS\/Brian Snyder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Saturday, photos surfaced on a website appearing to show Dylann Roof, the 21-year old suspect in the massacre, posing in photographs with a handgun and standing in front of a Confederate military museum and plantation slave houses.<\/p>\n

\"People
People stand outside during a vigil outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Investigators were aware of the postings which included a racist manifesto and were taking steps to verify their authenticity, the FBI said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"People
People listen to gospel music being sung during a vigil outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roof was arrested on Thursday and charged with nine murders. Authorities say he spent an hour in an evening Bible study group at the church, nicknamed “Mother Emanuel” for its key role in African-American history, before opening fire on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\"A
A father carries his son on his back as they listen to gospel music being sung during a vigil outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outside the church, the oldest African-American congregation in the southern United States, bouquets, bears and balloons covered the sidewalk while hundreds of people lined up to mourn, sing hymns and leave memorials.<\/p>\n

\"A
A speaker takes part in a “Black Lives Matter” march around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thousands of hand-written messages covered white banners at the church’s entrance, reading “God Bless,” or “Thank you Sen. Rev. Clementa Pinckney. You will 4ever be an inspiration,” referring to the church’s pastor, a state senator who was one of the victims.<\/p>\n

\"Combination
Combination photograph of signs of support left at a makeshift memorial at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Below the church program board, a poster covered in pink and white hearts and silver stars read: “we are all in this together & we will shine on.” A picture of multi-colored hands marked the middle of the card, reinforcing the message.<\/p>\n

\"People
People take part in “Black Lives Matter” march around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Monte Talmadge, a 63-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, drove nearly 300 miles (480 km) overnight from Raleigh, North Carolina, and sat in a camping chair across the street from the church.<\/p>\n

\"People
People take part in a “Black Lives Matter” march around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

“There was an overwhelming feeling that made me drive here,” he said. “A church is a place of worship, not a place for killing.”<\/p>\n

\"Dylann
Dylann Storm Roof appears by closed-circuit televison at his bond hearing in Charleston, South Carolina June 19, 2015 in a still image from video. REUTERS\/POOL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The victims’ names, written on white ribbons adorned with roses, bedecked one of the church’s gates. Another gate held a black shirt that read “Do you believe us now.”<\/p>\n

\"A
A handout photograph posted to a website with a racist manifesto appears to show Dylann Roof, the suspect in Wednesday’s Charleston church massacre, posing with a burning American Flag in an unknown location, in this photo with a digital timestamp of May 11, 2015. Handout via Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Text posted on the website that appeared to show the suspect outlined the author’s view of the superiority of white people and says they have no reason to feel guilt about the treatment of African-Americans. The author provides an “explanation” for taking some unspecified action.<\/p>\n

\"A
A handout photograph showing what appears to be Dylann Roof, the suspect in Wednesday’s Charleston church massacre, posing with wax figures at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina posted to a website with a racist manifesto including this photo with a digital timestamp of August 3. 2014. Handout via Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I have no choice … I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country,” it said.<\/p>\n

\"Sister
Sister Mary Thecla, from the Daughters of St. Paul, prays outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 19, 2015, two days after a mass shooting left nine dead during a bible study at the church. REUTERS\/Brian Snyder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The massacre was the latest in the series of bloody mass shootings in the United State that have reignited a debate over gun control in a country where the right to own firearms is constitutionally protected.<\/p>\n

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People take part in ‘Black Lives Matter’ march around Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal<\/div>\n
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\"Sister
Sister Mary Thecla, from the Daughters of St. Paul, prays outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina June 19, 2015, two days after a mass shooting left nine dead during a bible study at the church. REUTERS\/Brian Snyder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
–<\/div>\n
Source: Reuters<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mourners were expected to flock to the Emanuel African Methodist Church in the historic U.S. city of Charleston as it reopens for worship on Sunday, days after a gunman shot nine black church members to death during a Bible study group. Arriving from around the United States on Saturday to pay respects to those killed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":126795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-126779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-papa-owusu-ankomah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}