Bush was to appear Thursday at the Charleston Maritime Center. Jeb Bush cancels Charleston visit after church shootings The slayings occurred at one of the nation's oldest African American churches.

In the wake of Wednesday’s mass church shooting, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush canceled a scheduled appearance Thursday in Charleston, South Carolina.

“Governor Bush’s thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy,” according to a statement from his campaign.


The shootings occurred at Emanuel AME Church, one of the nation’s oldest African American churches, in Charleston’s downtown area. Police Chief Greg Mullen and Mayor Joe Riley said nine people were killed in the shootings, and others were wounded. A suspect — police described him as a 21-year-old white male — was still at large.

“A heartbreaking scene I have never witnessed in my life before,” Riley said of the tragedy.

Bush, who formally announced his candidacy earlier this week, was to appear Thursday at the Charleston Maritime Center as part of his tour of some of the nation’s early-primary states. The city has a special connection to his family: His mother, Barbara Bush, was a 1943 graduate of Ashley Hall School.

Earlier in the day, Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton spoke in North Charleston, her second visit to the state since declaring her candidacy.

According to Columbia’s The State newspaper, the pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal church, Clementa Pinckney, who is also a state senator, was among those slain at the church.

The 41-year-old Pinckney was first elected to the State House in 1996 at the age of 23; a biography on the church’s web site calls him “the youngest African-American in South Carolina to be elected to the State Legislature.”

A previous version of this story incorrectly identified where The State newspaper is located. This story has been updated.