It has been 5 years since white supremacist Dylann Roof opened fire killing 9 Black church members at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston June 17, 2015.

“Five years ago, we lost 9 beautiful souls at Mother Emanuel, and our state was shaken by an unspeakable act of hatred and ignorance,” said SC Gov. Henry McMaster.

“But evil did not win the day. Love, compassion, strength, and faith – exemplified by the families of the Emanuel 9 – reigned supreme.

“We must not simply remember the lessons learned that day and in the days and weeks which followed. We must carry them with us each day, recognizing that although evil and tragedy exist, the unifying effects of grace and love abound and conquer all.”

Roof once attended White Knoll High School after moving in with friends in Red Bank in Lexington County.

He became the 1st person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. He has appealed his convictions and death sentence.

Roof told FBI agents that he wanted the shootings to bring back segregation or perhaps start a race war, the AP reports.

The victims of the killing included the church’s senior pastor and 8 of his parishioners:

• The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41

• Cynthia Graham Hurd, 54

• Susie Jackson, 87

• Ethel Lance, 70

• Rev. DePayne Middleton, 49

• Tywanza Sanders, 26

• Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74

• Rev. Sharonda Singleton, 45

• Myra Thompson, 59