In a shocking incident, a gunman shot dead nine people praying at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday night.
Search is on for the gunman.
Addressing a press conference, Charleston Police chief Gregory Mullen said one other person was wounded and taken to a hospital.
Describing the incident as a `hate crime`, Mullen told reporters about four hours after the shooting on Wednesday evening: “It is unfathomable that somebody in today’s society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives.”
Mullen added that a prayer meeting was going on at the church at the time of the shooting.
He also said that an all-clear had been sounded after an earlier bomb threat in the area of the church.
Addressing a news conference, Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said he would investigate the shooting as a “hate crime”.
“I do believe it was a hate crime,” Mullen told reporters about four hours after the shooting on Wednesday evening. “It is unfathomable that somebody in today’s society would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives.”
On microblogging website Twitter, the Charleston police said the suspect, who opened fire at around 0100 GMT, is a clean-shaven slender white male, about 21.
The website for the church said it has one of the largest and oldest black congregations in the region. It was built in 1891 and is considered a historically significant building, according to the National Park Service.
The church is led by the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who also serves in the state senate, according to the church`s website.