"I do believe this was a hate crime," Police Chief Gregory Mullen said.

Eight people died on the scene at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and one person was pronounced dead at a hospital, Mullen said. The suspect, who remains on the loose, is a white male about 21 years old, officials said.
The shooting took place at about 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Charleston Police released photos of the suspect during a news conference that started at 6 a.m. ET Thursday, and said he left the scene in a black four door sedan. He is described as "armed and dangerous."
Church members were shot as they took part in shot at bible study, the NAACP said. Dot Scott, president of the Charleston NAACP, said a female survivor told family members that the gunman initially sat down in the church for a while before opening fire, the Post and Courier reported. Scott added that the gunman reportedly told the woman he was letting her live so she could tell others what happened.
Among the dead was the state senator who was pastor of the church, Democrat Clementa Pinckney, said South Carolina House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, the Associated Press reported. Pinckney, 41, was married with two children and had served in the state Senate since 2000, according to online biographies.
People were taking part in a prayer meeting at the time of the incident, Mayor Joe Riley said during the press conference.
"This is inexplicable," Riley said. "It is the most intolerable and unbelievable act possible ... The only reason someone could walk into church and shoot people praying is out of hate."
Said Police Chief Mullen: "This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience. It is senseless. It is unfathomable that someone would walk into a church when people are having a prayer meeting and take their lives."