Members of the US House of Representatives and members of the US Senate and staff gather in a prayer circle in front of the US Capitol to honor those gunned down last night inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Members of the US House of Representatives and members of the US Senate and staff gather in a prayer circle in front of the US Capitol to honor those gunned down last night inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

As local and national leaders react to the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church—offering words of dismay, heartbreak, and anger—at least four vigils are planned locally to honor the victims.

Speaking this afternoon, President Barack Obama expressed “deep sorrow” over the deadly shooting. “To say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel.”

He also voiced deep frustration with the frequency of gun violence in this country, saying we “as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.”

The president acknowledged the outsize role of the historically black church in the local community and its storied history of organizing and activism. “This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. This is a church that was burned to the ground because its worshipers worked to end slavery. When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, they conducted services in secret. When there was a nonviolent movement to bring our country closer in line with our highest ideals, some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church’s steps,” he said. “This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.”

He ended his remarks on a hopeful note: “Mother Emanuel church and its congregation have risen before—from flames, from an earthquake, from other dark times—to give hope to generations of Charlestonians. And with our prayers and our love, and the buoyancy of hope, it will rise again now as a place of peace.”

Members of Congress held a prayer circle this afternoon to honor the victims. D.C. leaders also expressed dismay and offered condolences to Charleston.

Several vigils are planned in D.C. to honor the victims.

From 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. tonight, Foundry UMC (1500 16th Street NW) will toll a bell for each life lost and host a vigil in front of the church.

A DC for Charleston vigil will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at Dupont Circle. Organizers write: “Black churches have been attacked and burned down to intimidate, kill, and scare Black people in America. These forms of terrorism MUST end. Join us tonight at a vigil to show DC’s solidarity with Charleston and raise your voice against anti-black racism and hate violence. Use the hashtag #DC4Charleston.”

Tomorrow, the National Black United Front will commemorate the victims with the Juneteenth Inter-Faith Prayer Vigil at the African American Civil War Memorial. It begins at 7 p.m., and attendees are asked to bring a white candle.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (1514 15th Street NW), the oldest African-American parish in the Diocese of Washington, will host a prayer service on Friday at 7 p.m. to mourn together and “to ask God’s healing on our land and to commit ourselves anew to justice and racial reconciliation.” The National Cathedral will also toll the mourning bell this week to honor the lives lost.

Filed Under: Charleston, emanuel amel church, hate crime,