Charleston shooting tragedy touches relatives in Hoke County
RAEFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- A local woman is mourning the loss of her aunt following Thursday's mass shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church.
Myra Thompson, 59, was among the nine victims. Thompson's niece, Terea Jenkins, is a kindergarten teacher who lives in Raeford.
Jenkins said her aunt loved her family, her church, and the Lord, Now, that family holding tight to their faith for strength.
Jenkins said her mother only repeated two words "Oh No. Oh No Oh No," when she got the call late Wednesday night that her sister had been killed.
"Everything seems so surreal right now" said Jenkins. "It's just hard to fathom that something like this could happen today. That someone has so much hate in their heart."
Jenkins says her aunt was a life-long member at Emanuel AME and was leading the Bible study Wednesday night.
"My mom is not taking this too well," said Jenkins. "She has nine sisters and one brother. Now she has 8 sisters and they are all very close knit. So this has been something really hard for the whole family. Emanuel is where our roots are, and my family is very religious. They do love the Lord. This is just heartbreaking."
Jenkins said her mother's sisters and brother are now holding fast to their faith for strength. Despite her grief, Jenkins said her family will not answer hate with more hate.
"We must pray for the victims. We need to pray for Charleston," she said. "We need to pray for our country, and we also need to pray for the alleged shooter and his family."
Jenkins expects to join the rest of her relatives in Charleston in the next few days.
Related stories
