CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — For several minutes Sunday, the sweltering skies above this grieving city were alive with the sound of bells: high in steeples and in the hands of toddlers, all ringing and tinkling in unison to honor the nine people cut down during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — For several minutes Sunday, the sweltering skies above this grieving city were alive with the sound of bells: high in steeples and in the hands of toddlers, all ringing and tinkling in unison to honor the nine people cut down during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Churches of all denominations across Charleston agreed to ring their bells at 10 a.m. in a gesture they hoped would send a healing message of unity and love to the world. Standing in the shadow of St. Matthew’s Lutheran, less than a block from “Mother Emanuel,” Kelly Nix said the event brought her comfort.
“It’s about grace, hearing the bells and being part of a community that we love,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks as her twin girls, Lana and Margeaux, who will turn 2 on Friday, ran around in their matching white dresses.
Police say a white man named Dylann Storm Roof, 21, sat with the Bible study group for an hour Wednesday before pulling out a handgun and opening fire.