Epigraph:
Whosoever killed a person — unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land — it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind. (Al Quran 5:33)
Charleston victims: 9 lives lost to family and community
By Don Melvin and Steve Almasy, CNN
(CNN) They gathered at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church to study the Bible — a small group, 13 people. Many were familiar faces. One was a stranger.
But it was unfathomable that he was a killer lying in wait, a man who would kill nine churchgoers and church leaders in cold blood.
Police say Dylann Roof went to the church in Charleston, two hours from his home, and shot dead the pastor, other reverends and people who had come Wednesday to learn more about the word of God.
Here’s what we know about eight of the deceased:
Pastor approached life with purpose
The Rev. Clementa Pinckney died Wednesday doing the work he had always felt was right for him.
He was spreading the Word when he and eight others were gunned down in the massacre.
Pinckney, 41, answered the call to preach nearly 30 years ago, at the age of 13, according to a biography on the church website.
He was a high achiever all his life. He was first appointed a pastor when he was 18. He graduated from Allen University magna cum laude and was president of the student body.
Ebony magazine included him as one of its “Top College Students in America.”
In 1996, at 23, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, the youngest black person ever.
Four years later, he was elected to the state Senate.
Read further and watch a video in CNN
Categories: Americas, Counter Terrorism, Terrorism, The Muslim Times