♪ ♪ Welcome to a This Week in South Carolina special report.

I'm Gavin Jackson in Charleston, where ten years ago on June 17th, 2015, nine black parishioners were killed here at Mother Emanuel AME church.

in one of the worst racially motivated shootings in our country and in our state.

(phone dialing sound) (Polly Sheppard on phone) Please answer.

Oh God.... Dispatch> 911 What's the address of the emergency?

Polly Sheppard> Please, Emanuel Church.

There's plenty of people shot down here.

Please send somebody right away.

Dispatch> Emanuel Church?

Polly Sheppard> Emanuel AME 110 Calhoun.

Dispatch> And there's people shot?

Polly Sheppard> Yeah, he shot the pastor.

He shot all the men in the church.

Please come right away.

Dispatch> Okay.

My partner is going to be getting some help on the way while I get a little bit more information from you.

Okay?

Stay on the line with me.

Are you safe?

Polly Sheppard> He's still in here I'm afraid he's still in here.

Gavin> Dylann Roof sat with the parishioners and prayed with them during Bible study for an hour, before they bowed their heads, and he opened fire using a 45 caliber glock, he legally purchased, despite a criminal record that should have prevented him.

Don Lundy is the former head of the Charleston County EMS, and he responded to the mass casualty page that night.

Don Lundy> In a mass casualty, there's lots of radio traffic as people are positioning themselves.

First unit is on scene.

Everybody kind of comes down for a minute and waits for them to come back and confirm or say, never mind.

I got all the way.

I get halfway there, and I realized nobody said a word since that first unit was there and I remember crossing Sam Rittenberg and saying, that's not a good sign.

When I pulled up, the crews had already set up, the mass casualty program that we have.

They have a patient collection point right in the middle of the intersection, Meeting and Calhoun was shut down.

And, of course, the, the two bigger surgical suites are ten blocks down the street.

So I think, well, you know, if we're going to do this, this is a decent logistical place to have this happen.

And as I went behind the crime scene tape, the first crew that was there, was bringing out the one patient that we took to the hospital, and I just briefly saw the wound and, and I knew that, you know, it would be a miracle.

if that patient came through.

Gavin> Ava Ayers' grandfather, Reverend Daniel Simmons Senior, was the one they transported in hopes of saving his life.

Ava Ayers> And they have every TV on at the house.

My dad is on the phone, and I'm like, what is happening?

And then, we see, my grandfather kind of glimpse past on a gurney, and I'm like, that looks like granddaddy.

And my dad was like, "There was a shooting."

"Like a shooting where?"

He's like at Bible study.

I'm like, "We're home.

What Bible study?"

He's like, "In Charleston."

I'm like, "Is that granddad?"

And he's like, "Yeah."

And so, I think I just stood there cause at that point my dad's walking out the door.

So then, it's just my mom and I, and I'm like, "We have to get ready to go, don't we?"

And she's like, "Yeah, this is big."

And I'm like, "Yeah, if it's on the news here, "this is this isn't a random shooting.

"This is something big."

And that just kind of brings us to where we are today.

Things are just now starting to un-blur themselves.

And I'm just now starting to get a grip on, this was a targeted crime.

It was something that was hate fueled.

It was something that had a end goal in mind.

And we are doing our best to stop that.

Gavin> Roof was apprehended in North Carolina the following morning.

On June 19th, he was charged with nine counts of murder.

During his arraignment hearing, several victims' family members forgave him, something not everyone was willing to do.

The state mourned the loss of those nine souls senselessly murdered by someone hoping to start a race war, but it had the opposite effect.

Senator Clementa Pinckney laid in state in the State House after his body was brought in by caisson to a Capitol building, where the Confederate flag had flown on the grounds since 1961, but wouldn't for much longer.

The national tragedy brought President Barack Obama to Charleston to eulogize Senator Pinckney, grieve with the survivors, victims, families, friends, and to give hope, as well as sing a few notes of "Amazing Grace".

♪ ♪ ....blind, ♪ ♪ but now I see ♪ ♪ (applause) Clementa Pinckney found that grace.

Cynthia Hurd found that grace.

Susie Jackson found that grace.

Ethel Lance found that grace.

Depayne Middleton Doctor found that grace.

Tywanza Sanders found that grace.

Daniel L. Simmons, Sr. found that grace.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton found that grace.

Myra Thompson found that grace.

♪ Through the example of their lives, they've now passed it on to us.

May we find ourselves worthy, of that precious and extraordinary gift.

♪ As long as our lives endure, ♪ may grace now lead them home.

Gavin> 2015 was a tumultuous year in South Carolina, but the words of unity, forgiveness, and grace were associated with many events that plagued our state that year, including the Mother Emanuel shooting.

But forgiveness is hard to come by for some.

For others, it's part of who they are, but they won't be forgetting anytime soon.

>> Forgiveness is a choice, and I chose forgiveness because it is something that I believe in.

But forgiveness doesn't mean proximity to me.

And it does not necessarily mean that I forgot what you did and that I forgot the motive.

I forgive the action, but I'm still very aware of what the true intention was.

And that is what I fight against.

That is what I use my resilience for.

That is what I persist against, is making sure that your motive is not the story, and that your motive is not the legacy.

Vincent Sheheen> Yet, you know, unity is fleeting.

And I think that was true here.

And it was why it was so important to capitalize on that unity, to remove the flag.

Clem's funeral was a part of that process.

Clem's funeral not only was an opportunity to mourn and come together and think about what really matters, which I think all of the senators really did, in a profound way.

But it was also an important symbolic moment, that led to the Confederate flag being removed, because his funeral came before that vote, and it was mighty hard to go to that funeral where a racist killer had murdered your friend for any of us, and then think it was okay for the state of South Carolina to fly the Confederate flag in front of the State House grounds.

So it was, it was a profound moment of unity and opportunity for people to come together and also personally, to mourn.

But it was also a political event, a political event that led to the flag, being removed from the State House grounds.

Nikki Haley> We have stared evil in the eye and watched good, prayerful people killed in one of the most sacred of places.

We were hurt and broken, and we needed to heal.

We were able to start that process not by issues that talking about issues that divide us, but by holding vigils, by hugging our neighbors, by honoring those we lost and by falling to our knees in prayer.

Our state is grieving, but we are also coming together.

The hate filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag.

In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect and, in many ways, revere it.

We respect freedom of expression, and for those who wish to show their respect for the flag on their private property, no one will stand in your way.

but the State House is different, and the events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way.

15 years ago, after much contentious debate, South Carolina came together in a bipartisan way to move the flag from atop the Capitol dome.

Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will to say it's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds.

(applause) >> It's true, a flag did not cause these murders, but as people from all walks of life, Republicans and Democrats now acknowledge, including Governor Haley, whose recent eloquence on the subject is worthy of praise.

(applause) That flag was a reminder of systemic oppression, and racial subjugation.

We see that now.

Removing the flag from this state's capitol would not be an act of political correctness.

It would not be an insult to the valor of Confederate soldiers.

It would simply be an acknowledgment that the cause for which they fought the cause of slavery was wrong.

(applause) Gavin> While the state and country grieved behind the scenes, plans are being laid by Democrats and others to remove the Confederate battle flag down from outside of the State House, where it had been flying since a 2000 compromise took it off the State House dome.

That compromise also requires two thirds support of both chambers in the State House to remove or alter any monument from public grounds in the state.

With Roof's affinity for the flag, its divisive past and rebirth in the present, the moment was at hand, led by Senator Pinckney's friend.

>> He actually was a little difficult to get to know.

Clem was a quiet guy.

He was gentle.

He was very kind.

But he didn't open up really quickly or easily.

But we served together for a while, you know, well over a decade.

And I ended up being seat mates with Clem.

All of us, I think, wanted to just shut down and mourn Clem.

You know, we don't want to be in the Senate.

We didn't want to.

We didn't want to really do anything except for cry and mourn and, and try to figure out a way to comfort Jennifer, his wife, and the family I had the year before, run for governor and taking down the Confederate flag had been a key issue in my campaign.

Bakari Sellers and I had made it a core issue in the latter part of the campaign.

And as we learned about the racist nature of the shooting, which I think we all suspected from the very beginning, but then we saw the Confederate flags on the license plates and that next day, which I think was a Thursday, we had to start thinking, okay, what does this mean?

And a part of me just wanted to shut it all away and say, you know, I don't deal with any of this.

But by Friday, I think it began to be clear that the public understood that racist actions and racist thought and racist, publications and internet screeds that, that they had real results and this was a real result of it.

If that flag was ever going to come down, it was going to be now.

And it's terrible and sad and awful that it took Clem Pinckney being killed for that to happen.

But that is the only way it was going to come down.

And I knew Clem, and I knew that that's what he would want.

I introduced this bill and I'm proud to have introduced it with so many co-sponsors, not because our friend was assassinated not too many days ago.

And we should pass this bill, not because of that, but because of the eight members of his congregation who were murdered.

And we shouldn't pass this bill because some national figures say so, or because we've been getting emails or or pressure one way or the other.

I am asking you to pass this bill as it stands today, not with the amendment, for a very simple reason, and it's because it's the right thing to do.

Gavin> The Senate voted 36 to 3 on July 7th, sending the bill to the House where multiple amendments and drawn out debate, threatened passage leading to behind the scenes pressure from the governor and a key impassioned plea by Charleston Republican Representative Jenny Horne that spurred the 94 to 20 vote, after 13 hours of debate.

Rep. Jenny Horne> I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful, such as take a symbol of hate, off these grounds on Friday.

And if any of you vote to amend you are ensuring that this flag will fly beyond Friday.

And for the widow of Senator Pinckney and his two young daughters, that would be adding insult to injury, and I will not be a part of it.

And for all of these reasons, I will not vote to amend this bill today.

We may visit this another session, another year.

But if we amend this bill, we are telling the people of Charleston, we don't care about you.

We do not care that someone used this symbol of hate to slay eight innocent people who were worshiping their God.

I'm sorry I have heard enough about heritage.

I have a heritage.

I am a lifelong South Carolinian.

I am a descendant of Jefferson Davis.

Okay, but that does not matter.

It's not about Jenny Horne.

It's about the people of South Carolina who have demanded that this symbol of hate come off of the State House grounds.

Gavin> Governor Haley signed the bill on July 9th.

On July 10th, the flag came down to a roaring crowd of thousands, after flying for more than 50 years.

(applause and cheers) Vincent Sheheen> On the day, the Confederate flag was removed.

I didn't go to the State House.

I didn't think it was a great day.

I thought it was a shameful day.

And, I stayed at home and I was glad that it came down.

And I was sad that it took the murder of my friend for the flag to come down.

But he is now a symbol, and he did become a symbol of the state and the tragedy of the state, but also the opportunity of the state.

And, his portrait now hanging in the Senate chamber.

His lying in state at the State House, is part of the history and an important part of the history, and I hope it's a turning point in the history that when we look back 50 years from now, we'll see that we moved closer together, racially closer, closer together as a people because of it.

>> The community here is strong and also somewhat political, which is why the church has sparingly served as a backdrop for some major politicians, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who on the 2020 presidential campaign trail was here in 2019 talking about gun reform laws and hate crime laws, two big issues that have not really moved in our state, as well as President Joe Biden, who was here in January 2024, when he continued to talk about his fight for the soul of our country, Pres.

Biden> The word of God was pierced by bullets and hate of rage, propelled by not just gunpowder, but by a poison.

Poison that has for too long haunted this nation.

And what is that poison?

White supremacy.

(cheers and applause) All it is, is a poison throughout our history.

That's ripped this nation apart.

This has no place in America.

Not today, tomorrow, or ever.

From that day, this nation saw this congregation, this community demonstrate one of the greatest acts of strength I have ever seen.

I mean, this sincerely... the act of forgiveness, the act of grace.

It was, as President Obama sang from here, "Amazing Grace".

It changed hearts.

It did something, that may not have happened, but for your courage, you brought down the Confederate flag in South Carolina.

(cheers and applause) You brought it down.

No, you did.

(cheers and applause) And you helped the nation heal.

Gavin> Following the murder of George Floyd, the Charleston City Council voted to remove the John C. Calhoun statue in Marion Square in the summer of 2020.

But pleas for a penalty enhancement hate crimes law or expanding background checks have stalled over the years, even when survivor, Polly Sheppard, testified before a Senate subcommittee.

>> Take your time.

>> Susie Jackson, the oldest member in there, had 11 bullets in her when he finished shooting.

There were 77 bullets in the room.

Every person in there had at least 7 or 8 bullets in them... when he finished.

Pinckney had the less, because he shot him first, so though I don't think anyone should have to go through that.

And we're living around, I think the last I checked, 8...84 militia groups, hate groups in South Carolina.

We need a law that will address all these issues.

We should never have to go to church and go through what we went through.

Dylann talked to me, specifically.

He told me, "Shut up!"

He asked me, "Did I shoot you?"

And I said, "No."

He said, "I'm not going to."

"I'm going to leave you here to tell the story.

"I knew where you were all the time.

"I could hear you praying."

But he, Tywanza took the attention off of us.

And I think that's why we're living today.

I think if we had a better law, it wouldn't allow these people to do the things they do.

Gavin> South Carolina's gun laws have become looser since 2015, with permitless carry being the law of the land.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and his wife, a former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, were in Charleston Wednesday.

>> And, you know, Gabby talks about this a lot, like the one thing we can do to improve our gun laws is with the... >> background checks, Sen. Mark Kelly> with the background check system.

And in this case, in Charleston, a decade ago, the shooter in this case, went to buy a firearm and the required for the three days under the current law had passed, and under federal law, if three business days expire, the person is allowed to buy a gun, even if the background check hasn't come back to the seller of the firearm.

Now, in this case, with this individual, if there were more days available, they would have found out that.

Well, in fact, he should not be buying a gun.

Gavin> Congressman Jim Clyburn has seen legislation expanding background checks passed the House in 2019 and 2021, but stall in the Senate.

And similar legislation hasn't moved ever since Republicans regained control of the House.

>> They found out on the fifth day that he was ineligible, but by that point it was too late.

As a result, those poor souls lost their lives.

Let's give the FBI, let's give the authorities enough time to do their jobs.

We'll save lives, and we will be the better off for it.

Gavin> And now we want to bring you some stories from our "Voices Collected" initiative.

That's SCETV's way of commemorating the ten year anniversary of this horrible tragedy, by hearing from South Carolinians like yourselves about how you were directly and indirectly affected by this tragedy.

>> That morning of the Emanuel Nine shooting my brother Darrell, which is was the youngest of my mother's children, died that morning.

So we were all sitting around my dad's family house, and I texted Myra, and I told her that Darrell had died because they, they knew each other, as well, because they had been in class and stuff together.

And she responded to me that I have Bible study tonight and I'll stop by after Bible study.

So one of my half sisters, Donna, was at the house with us because my brother passed.

She was a member of Emanuel, and she would have been at Bible study had my brother not passed that morning.

So we're sitting around talking, watching TV, you know, just having family time.

And when the news came across the screen about a shooting at Emanuel Nine, everybody's fears just... yeah.

>> And we were in the house and she was pulling out pictures, and she basically explained that the young man who committed the massacre had been out here one month before.

And he had been over to the great burial grounds.

He was in front of the big house here, and he was also in front of "Transition Row".

And so I found that to be very, very intriguing because I had heard he was downtown.

I had heard he had been at the College of Charleston and all over, but I didn't know he was out here.

And I wanted to add that story.

That's something that stuck out to me.

That's something that meant something to me.

And I wanted to make sure that, that story was always told.

I grew up in Mother Emanuel, and out of the nine victims, my family and I knew six of them.

My father and Ms Susie Jackson were on the church trustee board at one time.

Ms. Cynthia Hurd always greeted me when I went into the John L. Dart Library.

I remember teaching Reverend Myra Thompson's daughter in Sunday school when I was a teenager.

I can always remember seeing Ms Ethel Lance's smile anywhere throughout the church when she ushered.

I remember my mother telling me that Reverend Sharonda Singleton had told her to be ready because she was coming to commune her, and my father that, that week.

But she never made it because Wednesday happened, and Pastor Pinckney was my parents' pastor at the time of the massacre.

I worked in the same school district as his wife and... this is communication that we received the day after, and it was to help us, help her, just remember her, Mrs. Pinckney.

>> Nine lives were full of faith, helpers, servants to the community.

We remember their sacrifices.

We remember them putting their hands to the plow.

They showed what it means to be a true soldier on the battlefield.

The example the world needs today.

A reminder for us as to why we should love one another more.

Love redeems us, fills our core with compassion and consideration.

It is an encouragement, frees, revives, builds us up, strengthens our endurance to go on.

Nine lives gave society a better way.

What it means to take the high road is doing what is right, even if it is not convenient.

These nine lives are a reminder to me about legacy.

The life we live will cause people to continue the mission or let it die.

We are the voices ringing in hearts and heads to reflect on the Emanuel Nine.

We are the hands who are holding their names in our souls.

We are the next generation with power.

Make a difference.

Inspire more humans to want to be whole.

Gavin> To hear more from our "Voices Collected" initiative and also additional reporting on Mother Emanuel on the ten year anniversary, You can visit scetv.org/emanuelnine or visit youtube.com/ SouthCarolinaETV.

For South Carolina ETV, I'm Gavin Jackson in Charleston.

Be well, South Carolina.

♪ ♪