Obama on "heartbreaking" Charleston shooting

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 28, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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          <article>
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                <h1>Obama on "heartbreaking" Charleston shooting</h1>
                <h2><p>"There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace, in which we seek peace, in a place of worship," said the president. "... This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. ... When there were laws</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <figure class="kg-card kg-embed-card"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aPotSXNzclA" width="500"></iframe></figure><p>"There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace, in which we seek peace, in a place of worship," said the president. "... This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. ... When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, they conducted services in secret. … Some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church’s steps. This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America. ... We as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.”</p>
          </article>

"There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace, in which we seek peace, in a place of worship," said the president. "... This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. ... When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, they conducted services in secret. … Some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church’s steps. This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America. ... We as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.”

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,