Anger, protests grow after Charleston church killings

Residents of South Carolina, still shaken by the unthinkable murder of nine African Americans, planned protests across the state Saturday, giving voice to their grief, anger and demands for change.

Protesters were to gather in the capital city of Columbia for a rally against the Confederate battle flag, a potent symbol of racism for many here.

Mourning for the nine black church members shot and killed by a suspected white supremacist at Charleston prayer service turned to anger over the flying of Confederate standard -- a subject of controversy for years.

Another demonstration, meanwhile, was planned in Charleston, site of the horrific murders, by organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Demonstrators in Columbia planned to gather before sunset outside the legislature, where the Civil War era saltire is still on display.

"It's time to put that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward healing and a better United States of America," said a petition on the left-leaning MoveOn.org website that had gathered 320,000 signatures.

The American and South Carolina state flags were set at half-staff after Wednesday's massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, where the victims included Clementa Pinckney, the chief pastor and a state senator.
Dylann Storm Roof, 21, from a small town outside Columbia, was apprehended the next day in North Carolina. He is currently in solitary confinement in Charleston, charged with murder.

But the Confederate flag outside the Statehouse was not lowered because, under state law, only the legislature can decide to bring it down, officials have said.

In Charleston, meanwhile, professional cleaners were seen Saturday at the Emanuel church where passersby continued to gather and lay flowers, ahead of Sunday services.
Thousands gathered Friday night for a city-organized vigil for the victims, aged 26 through 87, who Roof is accused of shooting with a handgun -- a weapon easily purchased in South Carolina, given the state's lax gun laws.

Holding hands, many with tears in their eyes, people sang the civil rights protest anthem "We Shall Overcome" in the College of Charleston basketball area.

Roof reportedly had said he "wanted to start a race war," in a crime that authorities are treating as a hate crime and investigating as possible "domestic terrorism."

The Wednesday night shooting was the worst attack on a US place of worship in decades and comes at a time of revived racial tensions in many parts of the country.
But the response from the community and even victims' families has been one of "love," as the genteel coastal city comes to terms with the tragedy.

Tearful relatives came forward at Roof's bond hearing earlier Friday expressing their grief and forgiveness toward the alleged shooter, who appeared through video link.

Roof, 21, appeared on screen in court from an adjacent jail block for a 14-minute bail hearing, flanked by two guards in dark body armor.

Roof was dressed in standard prison garb and appeared subdued. A detective confirmed he had had two previous run-ins with the law for trespassing and a pending drug possession charge.

Families mourned deceased loved ones as the bail hearing took place.
"Every fiber in my body hurts and I'll never be the same. Tywanza Sanders was my son. But he was my hero," said mother Felicia Sanders at the hearing.

Others pledged to forgive the suspected shooter.

"I forgive you and God have mercy on your soul," said Nadine Collier, daughter of victim Ethel Lance, 70, a lifelong member of the Emanuel church.

Several media outlets reported that Roof confessed to investigators that he walked into "Mother Emanuel" -- one of the nation's oldest black churches -- and opened fire on a Bible study class.

His arrest warrant revealed how he allegedly shot the six women and three men multiple times with a high-caliber handgun and then stood over a survivor to make a "racially inflammatory" statement.

A spokeswoman for the US Justice Department, Emily Pierce, said authorities were looking at the killings "from all angles."

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said she believed Roof should face the death penalty if convicted.

Roof's family, in their first public reaction to the killings, offered condolences Friday to the dead and spoke of their "shock, grief and disbelief."