Clementa Pinckney
The Honorable Reverend Clementa C. Pinckney was 41 years old when he was killed during a racially motivated mass shooting at his church in Charleston, South Carolina. Rev. Pinckney was a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate and a former member of the House of Representatives. He was a senior pastor at Mother Emanuel A.M.E., the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the Southern United States.
On June 17, 2015, Rev. Pinckney was murdered during an evening Bible study, which became known as the Charleston Church Massacre. Three victims survived.
Rev. Pinckney was killed along with eight other church members in attendance:
- Susie Jackson was the oldest victim, at 87 years old.
- Daniel L. Simmons was 74 years old.
- Ethel Lee Lance was 70 years old.
- Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd was 54 years old.
- DePayne Middleton-Doctor was 49 years old.
- Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was 45 years old.
- Tywanza Sanders was the youngest victim, at only 26 years old.
The victims were later collectively referred to as "The Charleston Nine" or "The Emanuel Nine." As a result of the shooting, the South Carolina Legislature passed a law to take down the Confederate flag from the State House.