Christian Leaders Respond to 'Literally Satanic' Shooting at Charleston Church; 4,000 Residents Gather for Vigil
Meanwhile, more than 4,000 Charleston residents and community and religious leaders came together to pray at a vigil held Friday night at the College of Charleston TD Arena.
"We come together this evening in prayer and love," Mayor Joseph Riley told the gathering, according to Los Angeles Times.
Riley shared the stage with Catholic, Protestant and Jewish clergy, all of whom appealed for community unity, as the city's pipe and drum band played the hymn "Amazing Grace."
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"Our hearts are broken. We have an anguish that we never had before," Riley said, who also pointed to the shooter's easy access to a handgun. "We can't just forget about this. There has got to be a better way. We do not want to live in a country where we need a security guard in a Bible center," he added.
President Barack Obama, who earlier called the shooting "heartbreaking" at a press conference, tweeted Friday, saying, "In the midst of darkest tragedy, the decency and goodness of the American people shines through in these families."
Earlier Friday, grieving relatives of the nine worshipers painfully forgave the confessed gunman, Roof, and urged him to "repent" during his bond hearing.
"I forgive you," the emotional daughter of Ethel Lance, 70, one of the victims, told Roof at the hearing. "You took something really precious from me. I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her ever again, but I forgive you!"
Roof was charged with nine counts of murder for each victim and possession of a firearm for the massacre which police have called a hate crime. While under state law Roof is ineligible for bond on the murder charges, Gosnell set his bond at $1 million on the weapons charge.
Roof, who confessed to killing the nine worshipers, reportedly told authorities that he wanted to "start a race war" by doing the unthinkable. He is said to have attended the Bible study for an hour before opening fire in the basement of the church.
He reportedly said that he "almost didn't go through with it because everyone was so nice to him," but later changed his mind.
Magistrate James B. Gosnell Jr. was criticized on social media, as he opened the hearing by showing sympathy for Roof's family.
Gosnell spoke about how Charleston would embrace all the crime victims, and said, "There are victims on this young man's side of the family. Nobody would have ever thrown them into the whirlwind of events that they were thrown into. ... We must find it in our hearts at some point in time to not only help those who are victims but to help his family as well," as quoted by CNN.
On Friday, Roof's family issued a statement for the first time since the incident, extending its "deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims."
"Words cannot express our shock, grief and disbelief as to what happened that night," the statement read. "We are devastated and saddened by what occurred. We offer our prayers sympathy for all of those impacted by these events."
The Justice Department also issued a statement Friday, saying, "This heartbreaking episode was undoubtedly designed to strike fear and terror into this community, and the department is looking at this crime from all angles, including as a hate crime and as an act of domestic terrorism."
