UPDATE: SUSPECT HAS BEEN ARRESTED [quote]Nine people have been shot dead at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, and a hunt is under way for a white gunman. Police described the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church as a "hate crime". They issued surveillance images of the suspect and said he had sat in the church for an hour before opening fire. The church's pastor, state Senator Clementa Pinckney, is reported to be among the dead.[/quote] The gunman is at large. Update: [quote]Charleston police named the suspect as [b]Dylann Roof of Lexington, South Carolina.[/b] The gunman is believed to have sat in on a bible study meeting for up to an hour on Wednesday evening before opening fire, killing six women and three men including the church pastor.[/quote] Update: they caught him. Update: Obama has released a statement [quote]He called the church a "sacred place" in the history of Charleston and spoke of his confidence that the congregation and the community would "rise again". He also raised the issue of gun ownership, saying "communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times". "At some point," he said, "we as a country have to reckon with the fact that this type of massacre does not happen in other advanced countries". line [/quote] Edit: guys, keep it civil down there, if you want to bash on the victim's beliefs I'd prefer you make a thread for that and not hijack this post for attention. 3rood5me