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9 people, including state senator, fatally shot at church in Charleston, S.C.

A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston on Wednesday night, killing nine people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime.

The shooter remained at large Thursday morning.

Police Chief Greg Mullen said he believed the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was a hate crime, and police were looking for a white male in his early 20s.

The suspect was descibed as about 21 years old, with a slender build.