THE SEAN HANNITY SHOW

Tragedy in Charleston The Charleston community has suffered a terrible tragedy.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult time. On Wednesday evening, a young man opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.  Nine people were shot and killed in what authorities describe as a hate crime. Six females and three males were senselessly gunned down.  Among those who died was the church's pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney.  All of the victims were black. The suspect has been identified at Dylann Storm Roof of South Carolina.  He's a 21 year old white male, 5' 9" and weighing 120 lbs.  This is a fluid story, with details continuing to evolve, but at this time he has reportedly been taken into custody in North Carolina. Social media has revealed more information about the suspect, including a picture of him wearing an apartheid flag on a jacket.  His uncle described Roof to police as "quiet and soft-spoken."  He had been arrested April 26 for trespassing. Roof sat in the church for an hour before killing those with whom he prayed at the historic black church. Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis told CNN that the victims "were killed because they were black." Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN that one of the victims told her family, "Her life was spared, and (she was) told, I'm not going to kill you, I'm going to spare you, so you can tell them what happened." We are clearly dealing with a disturbed man with a lot of hate in his heart.  This type of senseless violence is heartbreaking and disturbing, and nobody from any community deserves to be targeted. And Now Come The Politics Unfortunately, these stories do not exist for very long in the news without being politicized. Former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman tweeted shortly after the shooting an article about South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and her defense of flying the Confederate flag outside the statehouse.   Friedman apparently apologized for the comments, but it just goes to show that people are so quick to jump to conclusions.  Moments after a tragedy, their reaction is to blame the Governor for her position on the Confederate flag or to immediately call for guns to be banned.  This will, no doubt, bring back the debate over our gun laws, but that discussion should be had at an appropriate time.