Following the stunning news that S.C. Sen. Clementa Pinckney and eight other people had been killed in a Charleston church Wednesday night, House member Bill Clyburn of Aiken didn't sleep much of the night.
"He was such a good guy, a peacemaker," Clyburn siad.
Pinckney, a Lowcountry senator since 2000, had traveled Charlston to lead a prayer meeting at the historic Emamuel African American Methodist Episcopal Church when a gunman opened fire.
These are loving people, Clyburn said. He doesn't anticipate protests in reaction to the shooting.
"I expect to see a lot of prayer vigils where everybody can come together, trying to understand how this could have happened,"
Two Aiken County senators, Tom Young and Shane Massey, are appalled by the tragedy and the death of a young legislator who had two small children.
"I worked with Clementa for two years in the Senate when I was two seats down from him," Young said. This a profound loss for his district, an area with economic challenges. It's a tragedy this occurred inside a church. You don't think these kinds of things could happen."
Massey had the same reaction, that such a terrible event could happen in a church during a bible student.
"It's supposed to be a place of safety," he said. It felt like a school. Children at a school you expect to be safe. You expect a church to be safe."
Members of the local church community are also shaken by the news, and are reaching out to those impacted by the shooting. Rev. Paul Bush of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church said that members of his congregation and from other area churches are planning to travel to Charleston in the next few days.
"We will be there with them," Bush said. "I want them to know that they have our full support."
Bush said that despite feeling rattled by this latest instance of violence, he knows the church community will remain strong.
"We will continue fight evil on every front," Bush said. "Whether it's prejudice or racism, we'll continue to stand for justice."
Min. Jane Wise of the Music Ministry of Aiken, said that the mass shooting a senseless act that has left some in this community in shock.
"It's like a nightmare; you don't believe it," Wise said. "It's just such a horrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to the people of Charleston. We just have to put it in the Lord's hands. Nothing is too big for our God."
Wise added that her prayers are not just for the victims and their families but also for the shooter.
"We have to pray for the young man..." Wise said.
Wise added that this is a time when all denominations and people from different walks of life should unite.
"It's not just a church thing," Wise said. "We have to come to come together not just as a people but as a nation."
The Rev. Clinton Edwards, the Friendship Baptist Church pastor, said he was devastated by the news about the "hatred that seems to have swept this country...it's beyond words, and we must continue with our prayers and faith."
Edwards said his heart goes out to every family member who has been impacted by this shooting. Churches are supposed to be safe, he said, but wherever there are people, there is the possibility and trouble. Yet people of faith cannot walk around in the spirit of fear.
"My prayer is that people will rally together and stand strong in their faith," Edwards said. "We cannot let this cowardly to turn away from our faith. We would bond and come together as a country and as a people."