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State Senator Clementa Pinckney among 9 churchgoers killed in Charleston

Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, remembers the late pastor and state senator as a man with "a heart of gold."
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Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle early Thursday, June 18, 2015, down the street from the Emanuel AME Church following a shooting Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C. (David Goldman/Associated Press)
As It Happens7:04State Senator Clementa Pinckney among 9 churchgoers shot and killed in Charleston, S.C.

First, he joined the prayer meeting at a historic black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Then, he opened fire, killing nine people. 

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, was arrested earlier today.

One of those killed was the pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Clementa Pinckney — who was also a South Carolina State Senator.

Rev. Clementa Pickney was among the nine people killed Wednesday night in a shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. (Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church)

"Clementa Pinckney was a very, very good man with a heart of gold and we have truly lost a champion for the people of not only his senate district, but for the state," Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a friend and colleague of Pinckney's, tells As It Happens host Carol Off.

Gilda Cobb-Hunter (Twitter)

"[When I heard the news,] my first reaction was pure shock and disbelief . . . and the fact that it happened in a church - and not just a church, but a church with a history that Emmanuel AME church has for the Charleston area," says Cobb-Hunter.

Early, unconfirmed reports claim that Pinckney may have tried to talk the shooter down.

"Knowing Clem, I could see him in that nice, soothing, booming voice of his saying, 'Young man, there's another way, you don't want to do that,'" she says. "From what I'm hearing on reports, Senator Pinckney tried to convince this young man not to harm anyone and, of course, those pleas fell on deaf ears. It's just true to his nature that he would want to prevent anyone from being hurt."

Cobb-Hunter struggles to understand what could possibly have motivated the alleged shooter.

"Quite frankly, we don't know what was in this young man's mind, other than hate and malice. There may well have been some mental health challenges . . . But there has to be some kind of pathology that would allow a young man to sit next to the person he winds up killing, sit next to him and participate and be a part of bible study. It's just mind blowing. I'm at a loss for words."

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