Pastor killed in Charleston church shooting was slated to visit Philadelphia

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The pastor who was among those killed inside a historic Charleston, South Carolina church was slated to visit relatives in Philadelphia in a few weeks.

Rev. Clementa Pinckney's aunt, spoke to Action News.

"We can't give up, we still love, we wanna be loved - no hate, we don't wanna hate nobody," said Louise Pinckney-Pollins.

Through her grief, a heartbroken Pinckney-Pollins talked about the news that her nephew's life was taken along with eight others.

"And I've known him since he was a small kid, but since I came to Philadelphia, we still stayed in touch. He came from a strong family, very strong family. We raised him with God. He was raised up in a Christian home," she said.

Pinckney-Pollins says she never would have imagined that her nephew would lose his life in such a hate-filled way in a house of God.

Investigators say the accused killer sat with the victims through an hour of Bible study before pulling the trigger.

"You just freeze up inside just to see this and how this happened to our people," said Pinckney-Pollins.

Rev. Pinckney was slated to speak at Mt. Enon Baptist Church during his visit to Philadelphia.

The church's pastor Rev. Edmund Sherrill says there should be no doubt now in anyone's mind that racism is real in America.

"When you talk about some of the things that have gone on throughout our communities and across the country, this cannot be ignored," said Rev. Sherrill.

In the wake of the tragedy, Rev. Pinckney and the eight others killed will be remembered during weekend services at Mt. Enon.