10 Years Later: Timeline retells how the Charleston Church shooting and response unfolded

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – It seemed like another hot, typical night in the Lowcountry when news broke that changed everything. A mass shooting at a historically Black church in downtown Charleston with multiple injuries possible.

“This is certainly a very fluid situation right now that we are working because this shooter, the person who allegedly did this inside the Emanuel AME Church, is on the loose right now,” said Brendan Clark while reporting live from the scene.

It was a Wednesday night, just after 8 p.m., when Dylann Roof pulled up to Emanuel AME Church in his car. He entered the side entrance of the church and sat side-by-side with others attending a Bible study, none suspecting what would happen in less than an hour.

At around 9 p.m., the gunman, who had sat patiently and listened for nearly an hour, pulled out his gun and began shooting.

Nine people were killed, and several others were spared. Roof made several racially inflammatory remarks and then left the church. He was seen on church surveillance video still carrying a gun in his hand.

Word of a shooting came into the WCBD newsroom quickly and was confirmed by a message from the Charleston Police Department, which said via social media that they were responding to a shooting at Mother Emanuel. It was just after 9:30 p.m.

News 2 arrived on Calhoun Street and found near chaos. Blue lights, police, and first responders were everywhere.

The area was locked down, and the media were kept nearly a block away from the church. We knew something terrible had happened, but we did not know the magnitude at that time.

It was just before 11 p.m. when police officials described the suspect: a white male, slender build, wearing a gray sweatshirt and Timberland boots.

At one point, police tackled a man who fit that description. It turned out he was just a bystander. And there was also a bomb threat nearby, which forced the media even further from the scene.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the next morning that the rumors were confirmed. Then-Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, along with then-Police Chief Greg Mullen, delivered the dreadful news.

“The worst night of my career. This is clearly a tragedy in the city of Charleston, and we are all praying, and our hearts go out to the victims,” said Chief Mullen.

“To have an awful person come in and shoot them is inexplicable,” added Riley. “Obviously, the most intolerable and unbelievable act possible.”

Nine people were dead, including State Senator Clementa Pinckney, a pastor at the church.

There were prayer vigils in Marion Square with scores of people still in shock about what had occurred just hours earlier in their community. The killer was still on the loose – but not for long.

As the sun rose, more information poured into the WCBD newsroom. The shooting was considered a hate crime. Six women and three men were dead.

By 10:30 a.m., law enforcement had identified the shooter as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, and an intensive manhunt was underway. But less than two hours later, Roof was taken into custody after a motorist recognized him from news reports not far from Charlotte, North Carolina. Roof was apprehended by police in Shelby.

In the hours that followed, the community would learn the names of those who were killed in the heinous crime.

Cynthia Graham Hurd, Rev. Daniel Simmons, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Ethel Lee Lance, Myra Thompson, Sharonda Singleton-Coleman, Susie Jackson, Tywanza Sanders, and Rev. Sen. Clementa C. Pinckney.

The killer was brought back to Charleston, and it was inside the bond court where family members, still grieving and in shock, spoke to the accused.

Words spoken by the daughter of one of the victims defined how the Lowcountry would react to the crime. “I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul.”

President Barack Obama traveled to Charleston and delivered the eulogy during a funeral for the victims at TD Arena in downtown Charleston just days later.

Roof was indicted on 22 federal charges, including 12 counts of committing a hate crime against black victims, 12 counts of obstructing the exercise of religion, and nine counts of using a firearm to commit murder.

He was found competent to stand trial and found guilty of all charges. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

Additionally, Roof was charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. For those charges, which he agreed to plead guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole – an insurance policy for the solicitor that Roof would forever remain in prison should his death sentence be overturned.

In the days, weeks, and now years since that attack, there have been numerous conversations about gun legislation, and a hate crime bill that South Carolina lawmakers have not passed.