A gunman remained at large early Thursday after nine people were shot and killed in Charleston, South Carolina, during a Bible study session at one of the nation's oldest African-American churches, authorities said. "I do believe this was a hate crime," Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said early Thursday near the scene at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The victims included the church's pastor, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, 41, a Democratic member of the state Senate, two sources told NBC News. Mullen said police were called on a report of a shooting at the church at 9:05 p.m., and when officers arrived there they found eight people dead and others injured. Two of the wounded were rushed to a hospital, and one of those victims later died, he said. "This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience. It is senseless," Mullen said. "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."
