Local Officials Outraged, Saddened by Charleston Shooting

Mayor Bill de Blasio held a moment of silence Thursday morning to honor the nine lives lost after a shooter opened fire in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last night.

“This was an absolutely troubling and heart wrenching moment,” de Blasio said. “Our hearts go out to the people of Charleston. Our hearts go out to the members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church."

While investigators determine what led up to this shooting, the mayor said past examples point to the need for more preventive mental health services.

“We’ve got to take very seriously the fact that many of these tragedies occur and there are warning signs that we can act on if we are more aggressive about dealing with the question of mental health, and de-stigmatizing it, and opening up both the discussing and taking the actions we need on mental health in this city and in this country,” de Blasio added.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said he would convene a meeting of clergy to talk about how to prevent "copy-cats.”

The mayor said the city was stepping up security at African-American churches across the city as a precaution. He said there was no specific threat.