Twin Cities vigils for victims of S.C. church shootings
Updated 5:20 p.m. | Posted 1:53 p.m.
Vigils were planned today in the Twin Cities for victims of a shooting that left nine dead Wednesday night at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C.
Leaders at a St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church held an early afternoon vigil. A second vigil is scheduled at 8 p.m. at Sumner Library in north Minneapolis.
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Authorities say the shooting suspect, who is white, made racial comments before opening fire.
The Rev. Nazim Fakir, pastor of St. Peter's AME church in Minneapolis, said church leaders and congregation members are shocked by the shooting.
"Everyone is saddened and really finding it very difficult to put their feelings, their emotions, into words following last night's tragic event," Fakir said. "One would think that the church and the church sanctuary would be a place to offer sanctuary from the evils of the world, we're finding that not to be the case."
The churches that would eventually affiliate with the American Methodist Episcopal Church trace their roots to an incident in 1787 where African-Americans were denied the right to worship in a Philadelphia Methodist church.
Members of Twin Cities congregations will likely travel to South Carolina or find other ways to support members of Emanuel AME Church.
Fakir said the attacks won't deter the church from its historic mission for civil rights.
"We have been involved in and in front of every human rights and civil rights movement in this nation," Fakir said.
"While we certainly detest these types of events that push us toward this action, our faith that we talk about, preach about, will rise up in and us and we'll return to our roots."
Recent killings of young black men by police officers in cities across the country have sparked a wider dialogue about race in the United States. Fakir said he sees a connection between those incidents and the killings on Wednesday night.
"There is a tone in this country that is continuing to rise of blatant racism, of blatant disrespect for the lives of blacks and people of color," Fakir said. "I think this is directly tied to that."
At the afternoon vigil in St. Paul, several dozen Twin Cities church leaders sang and prayed at the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Brian Herron a pastor at Zion Baptist Church in St. Paul says he was devastated that the shooting appears to have been racially motivated, but says his faith is guiding him.
"We still have a responsibility to worship and to serve him and to love those who hate us," he said. "And so our prayers are for that young man who committed this heinous act, cause whatever twisted him to hate like this, we're praying that he gets delivered from it."
Police captured the shooting suspect Thursday after a 14-hour manhunt.