A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting Wednesday night inside Emanuel AME Church, a historic black church in Charleston, S.C.

Nine people — three men and six women — were killed in the shootings, which Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen called a hate crime.

Thursday morning, a Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis did not mince words in an interview with CNN.

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Peachtree Center in downtown Atlanta is seen returning to business Wednesday morning, June 12, 2024 after a shooting on Tuesday afternoon left the suspect and three other people injured. (John Spink/AJC)

Credit: John Spink