A historic church in South Carolina reopened on Sunday for its first religious service since a white gunman attacked a Bible study group last week.

A visiting clergyman, the Reverend Norval Goff, took the place of the leader of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of Charleston. Clementa Pinckney was among the nine people killed on Wednesday in what police are investigating as a hate crime.

The Reverend Goff urged the crowd to depend on God as they mourn the victims. Visitors from Charleston and as far away as California filled the religious center. Churches across Charleston rang their bells at the same time as a show of support before prayer gatherings in the city.