Saving Charleston: Emanuel AME Christians Overcome Evil with Good

On the evening of June 17, 2015, at about 8:15 p.m., 21-year-old Dylann Roof pulled into the parking lot of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, SC, and casually entered the building through one of the side doors. Wednesday was Bible study night, and he quietly joined the small group of twelve. About forty-five minutes later, as everyone closed their eyes to pray, he pulled out a gun and started shooting. He then left the building as casually as he had entered it and drove away.

Fourteen hours later, Roof was apprehended without incident in Shelby, NC. Upon questioning, he flatly responded, “I did it. I killed them.”