MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Community members in Myrtle Beach took a moment to remember the 9 victims of the Emanuel AME church shooting in Charleston. Saturday marked the second year since the shooting.
The Horry County Democratic Party held a vigil in memorial of the shooting victims, by the peace wall in Chapin Memorial Park. The organization also held a memorial in Conway at the same time. The vigil not only honored the Emanuel 9, but victims of all incidents of gun violence. Organizers said they will continue to push for stricter gun control legislation, especially after the shooting in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday in which a congressman was shot. “We want the Mother Emanuel Church to know that Myrtle Beach supports them. That could have been us. That could have easily been one of us or one of our churches. So we want to make sure they know that they have solidarity with Myrtle Beach,” said Robin Gause, one of the organizers of the vigil.
We reached out to the chairman of the Horry County Republican Party, Dreama Purdue, and though they did not hold any events to commemorate the Charleston shooting, she says she and other members just got back from Washington D.C. They were there at the same time as the shooting in the Alexandria ballpark. She says Rep. Steve Scalise, a victim of the shooting, is in their prayers and that the shooting has “heightened the organizations concern for safety around our country.”
