A crowd gathers outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church following a prayer vigil nearby in Charleston, South Carolina, June 19, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
"Jurassic World" star Chris Pratt and "Scandal" star Kerry Washington are among the celebrities took to Twitter to give their reaction to the mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17 at around 9 p.m.
"I'm praying #CharlestonShooting, Pratt tweeted. Similarly, Washington tweeted, "Prayers for #Charleston."
With Bryce Howard Dallas, Nick Robinson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Omar Sy, Irrfhan Khan, and BD Wong, Pratt stars in "Jurassic World" while in "Scandal," Washington plays Olivia Pope, a fictional character created by Shonda Rhimes inspired by Judy A. Smith, the first African-American woman to serve as the American University Law Review executive editor.
Labelled a hate crime by law enforcement, the shooting at the historic black church killed six women and three men were killed, who were all black. One of them is South Carolina state senator Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who was also a pastor at the church, Huffington Post reported.
Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white male, of Lexington, South Carolina, admitted to shooting the people he had sat with for Bible study at the historic black church, saying he wanted to start a race of war, according to law enforcement officials.
The church area was off limits to church members and remained a crime scene until Charleston police released it on June 20, Saturday. On June 21, Sunday, people filled the seats of the historic black church for services again and sang hymns as they remembered the nine church members killed by Roof.
Prior to the Sunday service, the Emanuel AME presiding elder Rev. Norvel Goff told CNN he will give the sermon.
