Community gathers uptown to mourn Charleston deaths

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NAACP held a prayer vigil Thursday night at the Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church in uptown Charlotte for the nine people shot and killed at a Charleston Church.

Photos: Shock, grief after 9 killed at historic black church in Charleston

More than 100 people including community leaders gathered to support one another.

“You get through a few days and years and you think you're through it, maybe it's over, and something like last night happens and makes you realize how much more we have to go,” Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter said.

Jeremiah Chapman's friend Tywanza Sanders was one of the people killed Wednesday during a prayer service at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston.

PHOTOS: 9 killed at historic black church in Charleston

"Sanders was loved by everyone who knew him,” Chapman said. Sanders graduated from Allen University. The 26-year-old was planning to move to Charlotte.

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“He was trying to get his finances together because he was a recent college graduate,” Chapman said.

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Civil rights leaders told the crowd they should all be angry by the senseless violence in Charleston, but also said for them to remain peaceful.

WSOC