ATLANTA — Investigators have released many of the identities killed in the mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.
Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, 41
Clementa C. Pinckney served as the pastor of historic Mother Emanuel A.M.E. in Charleston, South Carolina
Pinckney was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1996 at the age of twenty-three. In 2000, he was elected to the State Senate at the age of twenty-seven. He is one of the youngest persons and the youngest African-American in South Carolina to be elected to the State Legislature.
"Senator Clementa C. Pinckney was a leader in the Senate of South Carolina, a strong advocate for his constituents, a great pastor and community leader, but most importantly, a cherished and loved husband, father and son," South Carolina Sen. Hugh Leatherman said in a statement today.
He and his wife Jennifer have two children - Eliana and Malana.
Rev. Sharonda Singleton, 54
The Rev. Sharonda Singleton, one of the handful of ministerial staff of Emanuel AME Church, was killed Wednesday night, the Rev. Stephen Singleton of Columbia, South Carolina, and a former pastor of the church, confirmed.
Myra Thompson, 59
Another woman, named Myra Thompson, was killed at the church, where a bible study group was meeting Wednesday night. Thompson's daughter Denise Quarles confirmed that her mother died and declined to comment further.
Tywanza Sanders, 26
Tywanza Sanders, a 2014 graduate of Allen University's division of business administration in Columbia, South Carolina, also died. Sanders had recently graduated from Allen University.
Ethel Lee Lance, 70
Ethel Lee Lance, a sexton at the church, was also killed in the shooting, confirmed her daughter Rev. Sharon Rischer.
"Granny was the heart of the family," her grandson Jon Quil Lance told The Post and Courier outside Medical University Hospital.
She had worked at the church for more than 30 years, he told the newspaper.
Cynthia Hurd, 54
Cynthia Hurd was a 31-year employee of the Charleston County Public Library, according to its Facebook page. The St. Andrews Regional Manager "dedicated her life to serving and improving the lives of others," the library stated. To honor Hurd and the others killed, the Charleston County Public Library's 16 locations are closed today.
Daniel L. Simmons, 74
Daniel L. Simmons, a retired pastor from another church in Charleston, died in the shooting, his daughter-in-law, Arcelia Simmons of Newport News, Virginia, confirmed.
Simmons attended Emanuel AME Church every Sunday for services and Wednesdays for bible study, she said.
Suzy Jackson, 87
Hurd worked for Charleston County's library system for 31 years.
Rev. DePayne Doctor, 49
Doctor was an enrollment counselor at Southern Wesleyan University's Charleston Campus, according to a friend.
Information from this article came from ABC.com and the Associated Press