On the night of June 17 , 2015 , Pinckney was killed in the Charleston church shooting . He spent the earlier part of that day campaigning with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Charleston . That evening , he led a Bible study and prayer session at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church , where he was senior pastor . The shooter , Dylann Roof , specifically asked for Pinckney and later opened fire on the congregation , killing Pinckney and eight others . While the FBI investigated the mass shooting as a hate crime , many others considered the attack a racially motivated act of terrorism , and criticized law enforcement and the media for not labeling it as such
Charleston church shooting
Charleston church shooting
Clementa C. Pinckney