What We Know About the 9 Church Victims

Pastor was 'moral compass' of the state Senate
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2015 5:51 PM CDT
What We Know About the 9 Church Victims
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney speaks at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C.   (Grace Beahm/The Post and Courier via AP)

The nine people shot to death in a South Carolina church last night ranged in age from 26 to 87, reports NBC News. Some details about them:

  • The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41. The married father of two was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a state senator. "He was the moral compass of the state Senate," a colleague said on CNN, per Mother Jones
  • Tywanza Sanders, 26. He had graduated from Allen University with a degree in business administration just last year. The school called him a "quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education."
  • Cynthia Hurd, 54. She was a longtime employee of the Charleston County Public Library. All branches were closed today in her honor.

  • Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 49, worked at Goose Creek High School as a speech therapist and girls' track coach. She was also a pastor at the church.
  • The Rev. Depayne Middelton Doctor, 49, a church singer who had worked for Charleston County providing services for the poor. She was a mother of four.
  • Susie Jackson, 87, a longtime member of the historic church.
  • Ethel Lance, 70, a church sexton who had worked at Emanuel AME for three decades.
  • The Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74, was on the church's ministerial staff, attending Sunday services and a weekly Bible study.
  • Myra Thompson, 59, was the wife of the vicar of Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Charleston.
Suspect Dylann Roof was arrested after a woman spotted him driving.)

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