Everything We Know About the Charleston Shooting and the Alleged Gunman

Last night a gunman opened fire in a historic black Charleston, S.C. church, killing at least nine people—including the church’s pastor, state senator Clementa Pinckney. The suspect, a white male in his early 20s, is still at large. Here’s everything we know about the situation so far.

Live Updates on the Deadly Church Shooting in Charleston

Last night, a still-unidentified gunman opened fire in Charleston’s historic Emanuel A.M.E. Church, …Read more

Police say the suspect, pictured in the surveillance photograph above, sat in on a prayer group at the Emanuel AME Church for at least an hour before initiating the shooting.

At least nine people—six women and three men—were killed in the mayhem. That count reportedly includes State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who also acted as the church’s pastor. According to an NAACP official interviewed by the Post and Courier, the shooter told one female survivor “he was letting her live so she could tell everyone else what happened.”

Pinckney’s cousin tells MSNBC witnesses say the gunman’s message was clear:

“He just said ‘I have to do it.’ He said, ‘You rape our women, and you’re taking over our country, and you have to go,’” she said on MSNBC.

Local police, assisted by sheriff’s deputies and the FBI, are currently searching for the man, whothey’ve described as a blond, white male, between 21 and 25 years old, clad in a sweatshirt, jeans, and Timberland boots.

Authorities have also released surveillance video of the man’s car exiting the church parking lot. According to WJLA, cops say the car “had a ‘very distinctive’ license plate.”

According to the Post and Courier, at least one man who “fit the description” carrying a camera was briefly detained at a gas station near the church Wednesday but was ultimately released.

Investigators are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

We’ll update this post with more information, and use the below live blog to push breaking updates.

Update 9:25 a.m.

According to CNN, two of the three survivors were unharmed. ABC News says one victim, a five-year-old girl, apparently survived the shooting by “playing dead.” She is reportedly recovering at the Medical University of South Carolina hospital.