Joseph Patrick Riley Jr. is an American politician who was the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was one of the longest serving mayors in the United States that is still living, having served 10 terms starting on December 15, 1975, and ending on January 11, 2016.
Joseph P. Riley Jr.
The home of Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.
Riley in 1985
Charleston church shooting
The Charleston church shooting, also known as the Charleston church massacre, was an anti-black mass shooting and hate crime that occurred on June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed, and one was injured, during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black church in the southern United States. Among the fatalities was the senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney. All ten victims were African Americans. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting at a place of worship in U.S. history and is the deadliest mass shooting in South Carolina history.
People mourning the deaths at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church; image taken June 20 (three days post-shooting)
Dylann Roof entering Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church through a side door at 8:16 pm, as captured on CCTV
A prayer vigil at Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston South Carolina. 21 June 2015