charleston come together for a massive vigil. we'll take you there live. to the makeshift memorial growing larger by the hour outside the church where the victims died. is it a symbol of hate? in the wake of the shootings we're hearing new questions about why south carolina still flies the confederate battle flag on the grounds of its state capitol. tonight there are passionate calls to take it down. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news in charleston south carolina. we're only moments away from the start of the massive vigil honoring the nine victims of emanuel ame church the massacre there. just a few hours ago, dylann roof, who law enforcement officials say has confessed to the killings made a video conference appearance in court. in an unexpected and heartstopping moment a surviving of the massacre a woman who lost her son that night, told him, and i'm quoting, "we welcomed you with open arms we enjoyed you." she and other relatives of the victims spoke of mercy and forgiveness despite their tremendous pain. in a just-released statement roof's family says they are devastated but also touched by the victims' moving words and offering of god's forgiveness. new information about what roof's friends say he was thinking of doing in the weeks before the crime. our correspondents and analysts have been working sources to bring you knew and updated information. also the president of charleston's naacp is standing by to take our questions as well. but let's begin with cnn's martin savidge in charleston. >> reporter: wolf as a result of the arrest warrants released right after the bond hearing we've learned new details. and they include the fact that the victims were shot multiple times and that also it was the shooter's father and uncle who came forward. we're talking about dylann roof's father who came forward after he saw his son on that surveillance video that was circulated by police and i.d.'d him to authorities. meanwhile that bond hearing, it is usually routine. today was anything but. law enforcement sources say dylann roof is a confessed mass murderer. staring downwards with little visible emotion as he appeared via video feed at a bond hearing today in charleston. >> what is your age? >> 21. >> reporter: roof only spoke a few words as he stood through the short hearing, charges with nine counts of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. >> your honor, i've met with mr. roof. i think he understands the proceedings. >> reporter: it was the victims' families who spoke movingly of their loss. >> you hurt me. you hurt a lot of people. but god forgives you. and i forgive you. >> every fiber in my body hurts. and i will never be the same. >> we are the family that love built. we have no room for hate. we have to forgive. >> reporter: the judge surprised some onlookers when he asked for sympathy for roof's family. >> nobody would have ever thrown him into the whirlwind of events they have been thrown into. we must find it in our heart at some point in time not only to help those that are victims, but to also help his family as well. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell cnn roof admitted that he shot worshippers in cold blood. as they gathered for a bible study wednesday at historic emanuel ame church. his chilling motive? one source tells cnn that the 21-year-old wanted to start a race war. continuing to gather evidence against roof investigators have traced the .45-caliber handgun he was carrying to the shootings and they say roof bought it around his 21st birthday in april. the gun holds 13 rounds. and witnesses to the shooting said roof reloaded a number of times. when he bought the gun, roof already faced a felony charge for drug possession. in february an officer found illegal prescription drugs in his pocket. after employees at a shopping mall claimed roof was asking them unsettling questions about how many associates were working and what time they leave. a police report says roof told police he had no prescription and a friend had given him the drugs used to treat opiate conviction. he hasn't been convicted of a felony which might have shown up on a background check and prevented roof from purchasing the gun. and a short time ago, cnn received this statement from the roof family and it reads like this. "words cannot express our shock, grief, and disbelief as to what happened that night. we are devastated and saddened by what occurred. we offer our prayers, sympathy for all of those impacted by these events. our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed this week. we have all been touched by the moving words from the victims' families offering god's forgiveness and love in the face of such horrible suffering." the roof family statement. wolf? >> martin stand by. we're getting new information. also it's coming into "the situation room" about what roof is telling investigators, citing a source cnn affiliate wbtv reporting that roof said he researched the church and targeted it because it turned out to be an historic african-american church. cnn's brian todd is on the scene for us. he's getting more information. i know you've been speaking brian, with one of roof's friends. what did he say? >> reporter: yeah wolf we've been speaking with joey meek he was a friend of ryan -- excuse me dylann roof's from their middle school years. they lost touch, then reconnected in recent months. meek gave a very disturbing portrait of dylann roof's behavior in recent weeks, in the weeks leading up to this shooting. especially he said he had some very violent ideas about provoking tensions between the races. here's what he had to say. >> i mean he was just saying he wanted segregation, he wanted race war, he wanted to be white with white, black with black. >> what did you say when he said that? >> i didn't agree with his opinion at all. we just argued about it. >> reporter: now meek says that on the night that dylann roof talked about starting a race war, he said roof had had about a liter of vodka, that he was really drunk. when he talked about this plan to maybe start a race war, meek got very concerned and felt he had to take action. here's what he had he had to do next. >> well that same night i took his gun and i hid it. the next morning, i didn't want to get in trouble with him saying i stole the gun so i put his gun back in his truck. >> how do you feel about that now? >> terrible. i mean terrible but then again, i can't go back. i was looking out for myself really because i didn't want to get in trouble for stealing a gun. >> reporter: meek says on the night of the shootings he watched the coverage all night, then the next morning he called the fbi and identified dylann roof. he gave them a very detailed description. he says of roof's vehicle, the license plate on his car, of the clothing that roof was wearing. he says he believes he was crucial in helping them capture dylann roof are. as you know as you've been reporting, the father and uncle also came forward to identify the shooter. >> brian, thank you. we're standing by for that vigil for the victims of the charleston shooting. it's just getting under way right now. we're going to go there in a moment. we'll hear from some of the friends and relatives. i want to go to cnn's athena jones. she's got more on what's going on. >> reporter: it was heartwrenching listening to those family members in court today bearing witness to their grief. but also remarkable to hear them both inside and outside of court talk so much about love and about forgiveness. it's something president obama even commented on on twitter. all of this coming as we're learning more about the youngest victim. >> sadly, another day, another dollar -- >> reporter: tywanza sanders was an aspiring rapper who went by the name fresh wanza. >> give it up for ty sanders! >> reporter: the youngest of charleston's church victims also appears to have tried his hand at comedy. even giving a shout-out to his parents from the stage. >> my mom and dad in the back, whoo! >> reporter: at just 26 sanders came face-to-face with evil in his house of worship. he would be killed shortly after he filmed this snap chat of his bible study group. survivors have told family friend sylvia johnson about those last moments with the shooter. >> he shot the young man, his mother was there. she witnessed. she pretended as though she was dead. she was that she was shot and dead. but she watched her son fall and laid there and she laid there in his blood. >> reporter: after surviving the horrific shooting two days ago, sanders' mother came to court today to confront the lone suspect. he appeared on camera via video link. she can be heard off camera. >> you have killed some of the most beautiful people that i've known. tywanza sanders is my son. tywanza was my hero. tywanza was my hero. >> reporter: a haunting end for a young man who recently shared a song online called "what's wrong with just being black?" >> once you go black you never go back. ain't no way we can just be scrap like metal. >> reporter: for the young man who law enforcement say was hoping to start a race war with murder victims friends and family have only offered forgiveness. >> people in south carolina -- >> reporter: pastor clementa pinckney is concerned roof gets help. >> i'm concerned he get the right help that he ask forgiveness for what he's done and acknowledge that he did do wrong. >> reporter: a college baseball star who lost his mother in the massacre is surrounded by support. and showing nothing but love. >> love is always stronger than hate. so we just love the way my mom would and the hate won't be anywhere close to what love is. >> reporter: sanders '87 '87-year-old saunt susie johnson was killed alongside him. >> my family will forgive him hopefully. justice will do whatever they need to do to him. >> reporter: and wolf in addition to the tributes to honor the victims that we'll hear at this prayer vigil tonight and the growing makeshift memorial behind me at emanuel ame church the mayor of charleston has announced a fund has been set up for the church. people can make donations through wells fargo branches. >> thank you very much. joining us president of the charleston branch of the naacp, dot scott. thanks very much for joining us. i want to get your quick reaction to what we saw at that bond hearing today. dylann roof he appeared via individual i don't. you saw that there. you heard the judge make a statement at the beginning of the bond hearing saying that the family of dylann roof also deserves sympathy and forgiveness. what do you make of the judge's remarks? >> i agree with the judge's remarks. oftentimes when things like this happen it's easy to blame everybody that's connected to it it the sins of one attributed to all. i think the family deserves to be considered. and also that they deserve to be prayed for as well. because they are suffering a loss as well. not as great as those who lost their family members, but nonetheless, this family is grieving as well. >> our affiliate, wbtv is reporting, dot, that dylann roof researched this historic church and he targeted it after learning it was in fact a very historic african-american church in the united states. are you hearing the same thing? >> absolutely. and i think that gives credence to the belief this was indeed a hate crime that this was deliberate intentional, and well thought out. >> when people say, well this guy was just mentally ill, he was just a crazy guy, you say? >> i say, it does a disservice to mentally ill people truly mentally ill people when we attribute any misbehavior or hateful act and say that the person is mentally ill. at this point, there's nothing to support that assertion. >> dot, i want you to stand by. we have more to discuss. you're on the scene there in charleston. you lead the local branch of the naacp. we're also standing by to go to that vigil in charleston. we're hearing some opening benedictions right now. we'll hear what's going on over there. we'll watch it together with you when we come back. there we go. ♪ lease an mkz for $289 a month, plus competitive owners and lessees get $500 bonus cash, only at your lincoln dealer. ♪ how's it progressing with the prisoner? 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try adjusting up or down. you'll know cuz sleep iq™ tells you. only at a sleep number store where you'll find the best buy rated mattress with sleepiq technology. know better sleep with sleep number. we're covering breaking news in charleston south carolina where a massive vigil for the victims of the church massacre is now under way. we're going to go there in just a moment. we're speaking with the head of the charleston naacp, dot scott. also i want to bring in our cnn anchor don lemon who's on the scene for us. don, set the scene. we're going to listen to the vigil in a moment. but i want to get your thoughts on what's going on. you've been there enough for the past couple of days. >> reporter: yeah, and there's a makeshift, growing makeshift memorial out here in front of the church. we're standing in front of the church as well. more people are starting to show up to this vigil. what's interesting to me is the diversity of this and talking to people that are saying we don't want this to represent our state, definitely don't want it to represent the city here. and i'm not sure if they're going to be there but they held their own sort of memorial for people wanting to know more about the sister the relatives of cynthia hurd a librarian here and they're naming the library she worked at in her honor soon. but i got a chance to speak with her brother. both of her brothers. two of her brothers at least. one of her brothers malcolm, said he wanted everybody to know something really important about his sister. here's what he said. >> i think what resonated with most people and when we were here listening to you, you said she's not a victim. >> she's a christian. and she's not a victim. i just refuse to call her that. she's more than that. she's a christian. she's my sister. i mean, she's my best friend. she's my confidant. she loved this community. she loved her family. she loved being a librarian. >> reporter: her birthday would have been sunday wolf. the family says they're going to spend it in quiet contell place, thinking about her, celebrateing her life. and you can watch more of the family tonight, "ac 360" at 8:00, and on my show at 10:00 as well. >> you're doing a live show at 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight, isn't that right? >> reporter: 10:00. >> only at 10:00, i thought it was 9:00 as well. 10:00. don, i want to get back to you. i want to go to that vigil right now. take a look at this. james clyburn is about to be introduced. he's the long-time representative from south carolina in the u.s. house of representatives. we await for james clyburn to speak. dot is still with us. dot scott is the president of the charleston branch of the naacp. dot, this is a powerful moment for your community, isn't it? tell us what's going on behind the scenes? >> well, absolutely. i think what i'm hearing and what we saw yet with the gathering of people it sends a message that the accomplishment or the intended accomplishment of the shooter, it's not going to happen. it will not be mission accomplished. i think we're going to be stronger because of this and i think that these deaths are going to effect some changes that are going to be positive changes. >> this is a moment where potentially, dot, you can do some healing in charleston and in south carolina because people are coming together. that's the impression i'm getting. >> well, i think we can do some healing but we still have issues that have to be fixed. we heal and then we have another incident of abuse. we have to figure out how to fix things that we are not repeating the same kinds of sadness and sorrow and what i call a massacre. i mean at the worst possible degree that any community has to endure. so i think there needs to be some things done in order for the healing to not be reversed. >> what are the things that need to be fixed? >> i think the fact that you've got a 21-year-old that is so ingrained with the idea that african-americans have somehow taken this country and he felt the need to exterminate these people. sends a message that we've got a bigger problem than whether or not we have ability to heal. it's not surprising these people of the christian family these folks, are forgiving. because the scriptures clearly state, justice is mine says the lord. we expect to find particularly among these african-american churchgoers, that their families will forgive and begin to heal. but as a community, as a state, we have to look at issues that would breathe and feed this mindset that results in this kind of behavior. >> dot scott is the president of the charleston branch of the naacp. dot, thank you very much for sharing some thoughts with our viewers. >> thank you for having me. just ahead, we're getting new information about how dylann roof actually got the gun he used in the church massacre. was it legal for him to buy it? plus more of tonight's emotional vigil for the nine victims. we're going to go there live and see what's going on. stay with us. unbelievable! toenail fungus? seriously? smash it with jublia! jublia is a prescription medicine proven to treat toenail fungus. use jublia as instructed by your doctor. look at the footwork! most common side effects include ingrown toenail, application site redness, itching, swelling burning or stinging, blisters, and pain. smash it! make the call and ask your doctor if jublia is right for you. new larger size now available. hey, what are you doing? you said you were going to find out about plenti, the new rewards program. i did. in fact, i'm earning plenti points right now. but you're not doing anything right now. lily? he's right. sign up, and you could earn plenti points just for being a wireless customer. in the meantime, i just kick back and watch the points roll in. where did you get those noodles? at&t cafeteria. you mean the break room... at&t - the only wireless carrier to be a part of plenti now when you add a new phone line to your wireless plan you get 5,000 plenti points to use in lots of places. ♪ every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. ♪ those who have served our nation have earned the very best service in return. ♪ usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. ♪ eenie. meenie. miney. go. more adventures await in the seven-passenger lexus gx. see your lexus dealer. in original, and teriyaki. [bell rings] man, making commercials is boring. that's why you need xfinity. their cloud dvr lets me watch all my favorite shows anywhere. it's perfect for me because i do a lot of commercials. fast denim. comfortable fit. thanks, mama. that was me before dermasoap. parfum di edwards. for men. with a personal dvr library you can take anywhere, xfinity is perfect for people on the road. following breaking news of the charleston church gunman, dylann roof appearing in court by video, listening stoically as relatives of some of the nine victims addressed him directly and emotionally. they spoke of their pain they spoke of their grief. some of them though offered forgiveness. yes, forgiveness to the 21-year-old. let's get some more. joining us cedric alexander of the national organization of black law enforcement executives. he's a cnn law enforcement analyst. also cnn justice reporter evan perez and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes, our law enforcement analyst as well. evan the southern poverty law southern says there are 19 hate groups in south carolina. i know federal investigators are looking into whether any of them potentially could have inspired motivated, roof to go out and kill these people at this historic african-american church. how do they go about doing this? >> so far they've found no links, wolf. they've been looking and they've been trying to talk to people talking to his family talking to his friends. what they've arrived at so far that is we're talking about a lone loser, really who was somehow had affinity for apartheid-era, south african, rhodesia things that don't make sense anymore even in white supremacist circles. that's where the investigators are right now. >> they're also trying to fig figure out whether or not that gun he purchased, legally, illegally? he was charged with a felony had not been convicted of a felony. he was convicted of a misdemeanor on drug-related charge having a false prescription for some drug. based on what you're hearing right now, was that legal for him, background checks to purchase that handgun? >> well had he not -- it appears he was not convicted of a felony, so therefore, there was his out. >> if you're convicted avenue misdemeanor, you can still buy a gun in south carolina? >> yeah as far as i know. i don't know specific to south carolina. but certainly in many states you have not -- you cannot have been convict the of a felony and that's probably the case here. you know in which we are seeing. >> he was charged but wasn't convicted. what do you make of the fact that he was able to get this gun, tom? you served a long time in the fbi. >> right. i think it's common. you have most states where if you're not convicted of a felony you certainly can get a gun legally. if you're old enough and there aren't other -- you haven't been adjudged mentally ill or any other circumstance like that you can get a gun. >> tang us behind the scenes. what is the fbi looking at right now? they are directly involved in this investigation. >> right, they've been involved from the beginning. what they're looking at in addition to gathering all the rest of the evidence helping the police do that. there's also looking at whether or not they could even bring a terror charge prove it bring a hate crime, and prove it. when they already have a state crime calling for nine sentences of death for the murder of the people already. so i think at this point, if it's declared a terrorism case that means the fbi would become the lead agency. and i think right now they want to let south carolina be the lead prosecute this case and be responsible for what happens to convict him and presumably if he gets the death penalty, implement it. >> based on everything you're hearing, evan are his family members cooperating with law enforcement? >> they certainly are, wolf. the father and the uncle were among the people who called in to charleston police after they put out this picture and the tag number and the description of the vehicle they were looking for after the shooting. and they were among the ones who called in to say who they thought this was. so that is something that was -- that is viewed as being very helpful. they provided access to his computer. things that they can use, the fbi and the charleston police are looking at to try to see if they can explain more about exactly why he did this. >> cedric in this court document released by the charleston police department today you've read it i've read it. it says specifically the father and the uncle of the defendant contacted cpt, charleston police department and positively identified the defendant and his vehicle as those they saw in the photographs. the document is pretty illuminating. it says all the victims were hit multiple types. he didn't just shoot them once he shot them multiple times prior to leaving the bible study room he stood over a witness, to be named later, and uttered a racially inflammatory statement to the witness. so all of this will be used against him? >> yeah absolutely. i tell you, sickening as it is we know that he was firing an automatic weapon. i believe it was reported with a 14-round clip. so that means you fire off that clip, you reload -- >> .45-caliber handgun. >> automatic weapon right? >> yeah. >> i tell you, that's a lot of rounds. and a lot of reloading. it is very sad. but yes, absolutely all of those statements have become part of this case going forward in a trial. and it's just very sickening to think about, wolf. >> because he came in there, and he actually studied them presumably spent an hour sitting with them in this bible study class, and they welcomed him. they let him sit there. then he pulls out this handgun and he starts killing people. >> that's going to take away the argument that his defense lawyer might make someday that oh it was a spur of the moment it was like road rage he just snapped. he sat there, he thought about it he had a calm demeanor, he'd made up his mind what he was going to do. it's going to be hard to argue he didn't do what he intended to do in that murpd. >> it's also going to be evident he tried toes scape. so he knew what he did was wrong. if -- his lawyer decides to cop some insanity plea, that's probably not going to go anywhere. >> that's right. this is a young man who's been troubled for some time and investigators don't believe that he just arrived at this recently. this is something that he has believed certainly from what you're hearing from his classmates that he's believed some of these things for a long long time. that's going to play into this as well. >> i want all of you to stand by. because we're going to go to this vigil that is now under way. the charleston church massacre reigniting also a heated debate. let's listen in for a moment to what's going on at the vigil. ♪ ♪ oh what peace we often hold ♪ if you're an adult with type 2 diabetes and your a1c is not at goal with certain diabetes pills or daily insulin your doctor may be talking about adding medication to help lower your a1c. ask your doctor if adding once-a-week tanzeum is right for you. once-a-week tanzeum is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes along with diet and exercise. once-a-week tanzeum works by helping your body release its own natural insulin when it's needed. tanzeum is not recommended as the first medicine to treat diabetes or in people with severe stomach or intestinal problems. tanzeum is not insulin. it is not used to treat type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis and has not been studied with mealtime insulin. do not take tanzeum if you or your family have a history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you're allergic to tanzeum or any of its ingredients. stop using tanzeum and call your doctor right away if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction which may include itching, rash, or difficulty breathing; if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe stomach pain that will not go away and may move to your back, with or without vomiting; or if you have symptoms of thyroid cancer which include a lump or swelling in your neck hoarseness, trouble swallowing or shortness of breath. before using tanzeum talk to your doctor about your medical conditions, all medicines you're taking, if you're nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. and about low blood sugar and how to manage it. taking tanzeum with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases your risk for low blood sugar. common side effects with tanzeum include diarrhea nausea, injection site reactions cough, back pain and cold or flu symptoms. some serious side effects can lead to dehydration which may cause kidney failure. ask your doctor if adding once-a-week tanzeum is right for you. go to tanzeum.com to learn if you may be eligible to receive tanzeum free for 12 months. make every week a tanzeum week. you total your brand new car. nobody's hurt,but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? 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jesus said unto him, i am the way, the truth and the light. no man cometh unto the father but by me. if ye had known me you should have known my father also. and from henceforth you know him and have seen him. that's in the reading of god's holy word god's word for god's people amen. >> that was dr. brenda nelson from the mariah missionary baptist church. she was at the church earlier that day, getting ready for the bible study class, but she had a problem at home. she had to rush home. she survived. she is alive because of this air conditioning problem we're told she had at home. and she spoke there delivering a little scripture reading at appropriate moment at this vigil. we're going to go back there. i want to share with you some other news that we're getting. the charleston church massacre is reigniting serious debate over the confederate battle flag. some people calling for it to be removed from a memorial on the grounds of the state capitol. more now on the simmering controversy threatening to boil over. what is the latest? >> reporter: the simple truth is right now some black lawmakers soar upset by the most recent images of the confederate flag they're pledging to renew political battle to essentially push it off the capitol grounds altogether. but that is a tall order. even under these circumstances. even in the wake of overwhelming sadness, even amid charges of horrific crimes there it is. the confederate flag flying above the grounds of the south carolina capitol while outrage erupts below. >> this was a racial hate crime and must be confronted as such. that symbol has to come down. >> reporter: the u.s. flag was ordered to half staff but the rebel flag remained high padlocked into place. why? state law. >> bring it down! >> reporter: in 2000 civil rights activists successfully lobbied for a larger confederate flag to be removed from the capitol dome. in exchange all other tributes to the confederacy, influencing the flag on the capitol lawn became untouchable without an override by two-thirds of the state legislature. that's not likely here or in other places where some have said for years the flag is about southern pride, heritage. in mississippi it's even part of the state flag. >> we're here to show our support, that we're proud of being who we are and where we're from. >> reporter: opponents equate that to defending what germany did under hitler. actor wendall pierce from "the wire" tweeted, the nazis are responsible for the autobahn and advancing rocket science. do we fly the nazi flag to remember that heritage? it's an old debate. even top politicians admit it has new resonance. >> i think the state will start talking about that again. we'll see where it goes. >> at the end of the day, it's time for people in south carolina to revisit that decision, would be fine with me. >> reporter: maybe times have changed. just this week the u.s. supreme court said texas can deny requests for license plates featuring the confederate flag. but nine other states still allow it on their plates including south carolina. even as opponents are pushing a symbol of their own. #takeitdownsc. it is important not to see this as a monolithic thing where only black sit zens of south carolina want this changes. indeed the white mayor of charleston joe riley in 2000 was one of the organizers who led a 120-mile march to columbia saying the time has passed this flag needs to be part of the past. so there are plenty of people in that state of both races who feel that this is a relic of the past that should be put into museums, as president obama has said. if only because it makes so many citizens feel so terribly bad there. especially at this time. >> tom foreman, thank you. let's get more now. joining us the president of the national urban league mark moreal director of the southern poverty law center intelligence project, heidi byrick. mark what do you make of this debate over the confederate flag? >> i'm a son of the south. the confederate flag certainly doesn't represent my thought about southern history or any elements of southern pride. but here's what people are forgetting. it was in 1962 that the confederate flag was, if you will raised above the state capitol in south carolina as an act of defiance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. so the idea of a thinking that the confederate flag has "been on the capitol grounds since the 1860s" may be inconsistent with history. it is time but wolf here's the point. the flag is part of i think a larger issue that we've got to confront. and that is hate groups. hate ideology. hate speech. which i think has no place in modern america. so the flag is a symbol. but i'm concerned about hate groups. i'm concerned about hate speech. i'm concerned about all of these elements being carried out perhaps by a small group of people that's inconsistent with the kind of nation i think most americans want to live in. it is time for that flag to go. but it's also time for people to have some accuracy around how long it's been there and really why it was put there. >> let me get heidi to weigh in as well. you study this kind of stuff, heidi. tell us about the history of the confederate battle flag. some people say it's not a symbol of hate it represents a war that was fought for states' rights. >> yeah, well look. this is just a ridiculous proposition. the flag of course represents a government that wanted to keep slavery alive and well a government that was deeply racist and white supremacist. the flag it's correct absolutely that the flag was put up in defiance of desegregation. that's why it went up on top of statehouses across the south. it has been used for white power organizations, the klan and others over and over again. it's time for that flag to come off of every single government building government property, and to be put in a museum like obama said. it's a part of the past. it is not something that should be celebrated. and what it means is hate and white supremacy. why would we want to offend our fellow citizens in this way? it's ridiculous. >> quickly, have you found any evidence that dylann roof was connected in any way with any of the 19 hate groups your organization has documented in south carolina? >> now, we can't figure out if he had any relationships, membership whatnot. i mean we can see that he was influenced by the ideology put out by some of these groups. particularly the notion that black folks are somehow genociding whites. direct connections we don't know. we'll have to wait for law enforcement to see what he was looking at at the web. >> stand by everyone. we have much more to cover. if you'd like a way to express your solidarity with the people of charleston south carolina check out the suggestions on our impact your world website, cnn cnn.com/impact. moments of graph, moments of strength from tonight's ongoing vigil in charleston. >> -- if any member of the family is here, please rise and remain standing -- so you're a small business expert from at&t? yeah, give me a problem and i've got the solution. well, we have 30 years of customer records. our cloud can keep them safe and accessible anywhere. my drivers don't have time to fill out forms. tablets. keep them all digital. we're looking to double our deliveries. our fleet apps will find the fastest route. oh, and your boysenberry apple scones smell about done. ahh, you're good. i like to bake. with at&t get up to $400 dollars in total savings on tools to manage your business. big day? 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[ applause ] >> very powerful moment there. they honored the reverend pinckney and others as well. let's go back and watch a little bit more of what's going on right now. >> we are often tossed and driven on the restless sea of time. somber skies and howling tempests all succeed a bright sunshine. in that land of perfect day when the mists are rolled away we will understand it better by and by. the chorus says by and by. when the morning comes, all the saints of god are gathered home. we will tell the story. we will tell the story of how we overcome. but we will understand it better by and by. choir. choir, are you ready? ♪ ♪ we are often tossed eded and driven on this restless sea of time ♪ ♪ see the bright sunshine in a land of perfect days when the mist rolls away ♪ ♪ we will understand it better by and by ♪ come on choir. >> what a powerful moment. marc morial you are the president of the national urban league. you see this vigil under way. you see the family members of those massacred at that church. what goes through your mind? >> you know wolf this is a great outpouring to see clergy there, black and white, to see citizens united in strength and in unity to push back against what has occurred and to really comfort these families is really the essence of the best of what the people of south carolina have to represent. and it's part of this process of healing and coming together. this is moving. and i hope that across the nation this weekend that people will gather in their houses of worship, in their homes with their friends and commit to resolve to build a better nation and to push back against racial division and religious division and to push back against hate which was at the very root of this heinous crime. so this is what i think we want to see. wolf there will be so much more on this. i think that the policy and the political conversations are going to continue. i would like to certainly encourage everyone who is in a leadership position you have a responsibility to speak out against hatred division, racism religious intolerance, ethnic intolerance. you have a responsibility to do it if you are in a leadership position at this time in american history. >> well said. i suspect a lot of people will be at church this sunday. >> i'm sure across this great country, black churches, white churches. it's touching. i wish i was there tonight at this memorial. but you know what wolf? at the end of the day, this is an opportunity for all of us across this country to come together and move towards peace. because there is really no place for hate in this country between human beings whatsoever. we have to pick up and we are all going to move forward together as a nation. this is a great time for us to do that in spite of these horrible losses that we have seen here in the last couple days. >> are they going to have tighter security at churches? >> for a short time for the fear of copycats. i don't think the fear this is any kind of greater act than this one person by himself. but not for the long run. >> evan you have been talking to justice department officials. they are worried? >> they are concerned. this is something that around the country they believe that some of the groups are increasing their activity. we spent a lot of time talking about isis. but they are very much a threat here domestically from these groups. >> we will monitor this vigil. stay with cnn, obviously, throughout the night. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." our continuing coverage of the breaking news following the massacre in charleston south carolina continues right now with erin burnett "out front." breaking news. the family of the gunman behind the charleston massacre breaking its silence. this as 21-year-old dylann roof hears from the victims' loved ones. you will hear them tonight. a woman who survived the shooting by pretending to be dead could having her 5-year-old grandson with her body as she watched her son killed. breaking news in the hunt for two convicted killers. there are new leads tonight. let's go "out front." good evening. i'm erin burnett. the breaking news the family of the 21-year-old who confessed to slaughtering nine black parishioners at a charleston church

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