Charleston Shooting Sparks Outpouring of Grief

The shooting was the largest in the country since September 2013.

ByABC News
June 18, 2015, 10:48 AM

— -- A wave of grief washed over the city of Charleston and the Internet after the deadly shooting inside a Charleston, South Carolina, church Wednesday night.

Those who were in the area at the time gathered as close as they could to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the scene of the shooting, to form a prayer circle.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley offered her family's prayers.

"While we do not yet know all of the details, we do know that we'll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another," she wrote in a statement.

Presidential candidates began to weigh in as well.

Hillary Clinton was in town already for a fundraiser, but one of her Republican rivals, Jeb Bush, announced he would be canceling an event in the city that had been previously scheduled for today.

Celebrities also took to Twitter to share their condolences and messages with the survivors.

“Charleston” was trending on Twitter overnight and some of the most moving posts came from individuals, whether they had personal connections to the city.

Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just "star" this story in ABC News' phone app. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here.