CHARLESTON, SC — (CNN) Presidential candidates have canceled their events in South Carolina after nine people were killed in a church Wednesday evening in what police have labeled a hate crime.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was scheduled to have a campaign stop in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, but the Republican presidential candidate’s camp announced the events would be postponed. Hillary Clinton also appeared in South Carolina earlier this week.
South Carolina Senator and Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham has also canceled all scheduled political events today and is headed to Charleston later today.
“I’m glad they canceled their political events,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is expected to announce his presidential bid next week, said on CNN’s “New Day” Thursday morning. “If there’s an opportunity, if they happen to be there and they want to go in a worship service I think that’d be appropriate, if they want to go support the community.”
Former South Carolina governor and now Rep. Mark Sanford also appeared on “New Day” Thursday morning.
“This is so out of place and that’s why people are shocked, they’re in disbelief,” Sanford said. The shooting took place in his district.
It’s unclear how long the halt to political events will last. Both real estate mogul Donald Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have scheduled South Carolina events in the coming days. Neither camp had commented as of Thursday morning as to whether those events had been canceled.
Among those killed in the mass shooting was Pastor of the church, Emanuel AME Church, and Democratic State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who served in the state senate during Sanford’s entire time as governor. “I cannot say enough good things about Clementa, he was a remarkable human being,” Sanford said.
“We come from a strained past based on slavery existing in our state as it did in other colonies, and that’s a regretful past but ultimately past is past and so I think there are a lot of people black, white and other working to make things work,” Sanford said.
The FBI has opened an official investigation on the hate crime and police are still working to hunt down the shooter.
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