Published June 18, 2015 1:50am EDT | Updated June 18, 2015 2:04am EDT

Nine People Shot, Killed During Prayer Meeting In Charleston, South Carolina

Nine people were shot dead in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday evening at a prayer meeting inside Emanuel AME Church, media reports said. "I do believe this was a hate crime," Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen told local newspaper The Post and Courier. A police spokesman described the gunman as a 21-year white male, who has not yet been apprehended. The African-American church is one of the city's oldest.