The Charleston Shooting: What We Know So Far and Where to Get More Information

By Christopher Rosa

June 18, 2015 / 11:36 AM

So devastating.

A 21-year-old white male named Dylann Roof from Lexington, South Carolina was taken into custody for a shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston that resulted in nine deaths Wednesday.

A Charleston police spokesperson named Charles Francis said the victims "were killed because they were black," confirming that this tragedy was indeed a hate crime. Pastor and State Sen. Clementa Pinckney was among those killed in the shooting. Six of the victims were women and three were men. One 5-year-old girl survived the shooting by pretending to be dead. Even more chilling is the fact the shooter spent an hour in the church with patrons before opening fire.

This type of story shakes us to our core and really makes us question the world around us. Our thoughts are with all the friends and families affected.

We want to make sure everyone is as informed as possible about this unfolding story. Be sure to follow these sources to keep up to date:

For breaking updates on the story as a whole: CNN

For more on Dylann Roof: Daily Mail

For more on the victims of the shooting: Jezebel

For more on Sen. Pinckney: The Post and Courier

If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley). Also, Charleston's police department is another great resource for crime updates ( @CharlestonPD) in addition to Charleston's official Twitter account (@CityCharleston).

Here is one of the first photos from the AME vigil happening today: