News of the Charleston church shooting that left nine dead came as a heartbreaking shock to Alex Trent and Belle Bynoe, whose plans coincidentally brought them to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta on Thursday morning.
MORE COVERAGE: King Center posts photo of Dr. Martin Luther King at the site of Charleston church shooting
"I couldn't believe it. I had no idea that happened last night. We just came out here to see the King Center and got that news," Trent said. "It was just like, wow. I'm just really hoping things can get better.
We're out here shooting a record I've got called 'Stay Alive.' Prayers out to everybody in the family. At the end of the day there's good people and there's bad people. Good people need to come together at this point."
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Bynoe was devastated.
"There's more pressure than ever for people to unite," she said. "The more people that can stand together and focus on peace, the better chances we have at preventing events like the one last night."
Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on Wednesday. The King Center posted this historic photo of Dr. Martin Luther King at the church:
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Police have said there are six female and three male victims but haven't released names, pending family notification. South Carolina State House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford has said state Sen. Clementa Pinckney was among those killed.
Dylann Storm Roof, the suspect sought in the mass fatal shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., was captured in Shelby, N.C., authorities announced Thursday afternoon. The shootings are being investigated as a hate crime.
For the Rev. Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, he shooting summoned another painful memory. Her grandmother, Alberta Williams King was shot and killed while at the organ of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church on June 30, 1974. Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr., who had just arrived in Atlanta from Ohio, was sitting near the front of the church when he stood up, pulled out two handguns and shot King, deacon Edward Boykin and church member Jimmie Mitchell. King and Boykin were killed.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Bernice King called for change and a nonviolent response to the Charleston tragedy.
"We must interrupt business as usual and change the trajectory of our nation. The soul of our nation must be saved," she posted. " The best path to save the soul of America and transform our culture is through # Nonviolence365 . It's more than a tactic, it's a lifestyle."
- AJC photo journalist John Spink contributed to this report
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