Charleston: Parish mourns as church re-opens after shooting

Hundreds of people packed a sweltering Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston yesterday as it re-opened to worshippers just days after a 21-year-old white gunman shot dead nine black church members.

“We are reminded this morning about the freshness of death that comes like a thief in the night,” Reverend Norvel Goff told a mostly black congregation that swelled to about 400 people for a memorial service remembering those killed on Wednesday.

Inside the church, some wiped away tears and prayed as the organ played. Outside, a large, mostly white crowd gathered to show solidarity with those inside.