On June 17, 2015, the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina, was attacked during their Wednesday Bible study (CBS News).

Six women and three men were shot and killed by Dylann Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist.

Dylann Roof felt prompted to commit this act as a result of the Trayvon Martin shooting that occurred in 2012. He was angry that the shooting had received so much press, while “black on white crime” had not obtained such backlash. Roof expressed his thoughts online regarding the Trayvon Martin shooting, where he included hate-filled words toward black people (CNN).

According to CNN, Roof’s manifesto contained his racist beliefs, and he’d taken a picture of himself holding a burning American flag while grasping a Confederate flag in the other hand. He even designed his own logo that includes a swastika, his initials, and the number eighty-eight, which stands for “Heil Hitler.”

Roof was quick to confess that he shot nine people at the Emanuel AME Church, and he’s been charged with thirty-three different crimes, including hate crimes, murder, attempted murder, and obstruction of religion (The Guardian).

Roof’s family stated they would “continue to pray for the Emanuel AME families and the Charleston community,” according to Fox News.

Roof has been sentenced to death (New York Times).