CHARLESTON, S.C. – Residents of all races continue to mourn the loss of the nine people who were killed at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday.
A mother and father of two gathered at the growing memorial outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Friday, having to explain to their children why this horrific act of violence happened inside their church.
"I explained to them that a young man came and did something very wrong because of the color of their skin, and he shot them," the mother, Kearston Farr, told Local 10 News.
"I feel sad for all the people who died," 7-year-old D'Mari Morton-Farr said. "It's really hard to take, but life's going to happen that way."
Even complete strangers with different backgrounds embraced outside the church, speaking about how they can come together to overcome their sadness. Some said they are ready to offer forgiveness.
"I forgive because I have to move on," Carol Ellerbee said. "If I don't forgive, then it is hindering me."
"The racism has to stop," Liberty Ortega added. "There has to be a way to stop this white supremacist(s) against black(s)."
Police said they have no doubt that the mass shooting was a hate crime.
A Snapchat video taken inside the church before the shooting, and exclusively obtained by CNN, shows suspected gunman Dylann Roof, 21, sitting among congregation members.
Roof, who was arrested several hours after the shooting, is expected to face a judge in bond court Friday afternoon.
Roof is charged with nine counts of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
"It's a deep cut. But I'm very, very happy that they caught him," a Charleston resident told Local 10 News. "Now I want to see justice."
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