You are seeing hello, everyone. We have been following this News Conference. The mayor and police chief there in charleston giving some information on that Church Shooting. We learned that nine people have died as a result of that. Eight people within that church. An then one at a Trauma Center. A number of people have been taken to a Trauma Center there. We heard from the police chief. They will announce a reward very soon in an effort to hunt down the suspect. They give that description. We have been giving you that description. They added he has sandy blond hair 21yearold white man. They have said he will be brought to justice. The mayor calling it a heinous crime which indeed this is. At this point, he was saying the bomb threat is over. Calling on people to remain in their homes. So thats certainly a positive development. We want to welcome our viewers tuned in the United States and those watching from all around the world. One of the big headlines there from the police chief there in charleston gregory mullen. He says based on what they know he does feel this was a hate crime and them mayor following up and saying only hate could motivate someone to burst in to a church during what were was a regular prayer meeting and open fire. Eight People Killed initially. The death toll is now nine. We have a cnn producer on the scene, Ashley Killough whos been there for a number of hours. Some clarification there from local officials, ashley. What can you tell us what stood out to you in the press conference . Ashley if you can hear me it is errol with cnn. You are on the air. What did you make of the press conference there . Reporter hi. Can you hear me . Yes, we can hear you. You are on the air. What did you make of the information we learned . The biggest moment is when they confirmed they believe this is a hate crime. You heard them there saying anytime anyone walks in to a church and starts shooting its a hate crime no matter what you think. They said there were eight fatalities and one person passed away afterwards and they say there is there was a bomb threat that was ongoing earlier. They say that is over. They are not concerned about that anymore. The suspect is still at large. They are still looking for him. We have some images coming to us now showing what i believe is calhoun street, the street on which the church sits where the shooting took place. There seems to be dozens of Police Vehicles out there. The mayor said it was a heartbreaking scene ive ever witnessed in my life when he appeared on the scene. Can you tell us now it is past 1 00 in the morning there, how things look how people are behaving and whats happening . Sure they described it, the police chief described it as unfathomable unsensible. And there were more gathered here earlier. Mostly now it is the media and Police Officers who are on calhoun street. We did see a very powerful scene earlier when a group of local Church Leaders gathered in a prayer circle and were passionate and intense calling for peace, calling for everyone to sort of keep things in order. But also for justice to happen. Ashley the police clearly are trying to answer some of these questions but even as they are walking away, the press trying to get more information. We saw that on the bomb threat. It wasnt until they pushed it that they confirmed that indeed there was no longer a threat with that. Explain to us what is happening there on the ground because people are desperate for more answers on this. Right. Well they did finally confirm that people in the area should not be worried about the bomb threat but they did urge caution because the suspect is still at large. They wouldnt give details in to the investigation itself. They would not comment on the investigation in general but only sort of give details on stuff that has already happened. We are waiting to hear more about where they think the suspect might be. Ashley are people still gathered there at the front of the church, or have they started to disperse now . We did hear from the police chief he wanted people to stay in their homes and to move away from that area. Correct. They did say that. They havent done much in terms of closing down a lot of the streets around here. They have closed down the street we are on which is calhoun street as you mentioned, where the church is. But there are still some streets open around us. I ran in to a couple of girls who had been out at a couple of bars and they said some bars had locked their doors. Said they were closing down early. Theres still a little activity in terms of people walking, carrying out the rest of their night. That sounds surprising to me considering that this young early 0 20s suspect is still at large. The incident took place four hours ago and you told us specific streets and blocks are closed down. Do you get the sense there is a different renn shags between where they think the suspect maybe and where everyone else is free to continue their evening . No. Only closures we are seeing is the street we are on. And then another street that runs in to it. There maybe some more streets closed on the other side of the church but they did not say, they did not mention streets or specific areas j just the area we are in right now. They werent specific in terms of what that perimeter is exactly. I should mention there was a man who was led away in handcuffs earlier tonight. We saw that happen. It was a sort of quiet situation. He went peacefully. The police chief did not say whether that was related to the suspect. He simply said hes not going to answer questions about the investigation. Right. Ashley too. We heard from the police chief. He said they would be announcing a reward. He didnt indicate how much that would be but a reward to try to get people to come forward with some information, which indicates to us that they dont really have much to go on here. We know hes a 21yearold white suspect, slender, wearing gray sweatshirt blue jeans and timberland boots, clean shaven and then we heard from the News Conference that sandy blond hair but thats not very much to go on at all. Correct. They are asking the public to help find this person. It does not seem like they have a good grasp where he could be at this moment. They are supposed to address us in the next couple of hours. Again, perhaps they will have an update at that time. We will continue to try to get answers until then. All right. Yes, indeed. With the suspect still at large, people want to see him brought to justice and we heard from both the mayor and the police chief they are going to make sure that happens. Ashley killough cnn producer there in charleston. Thank you for that ashley. It is unfathomable and thats the reaction we are seeing from officials, from locals. They are just shocked at a regular prayer meeting a shooter for any reason would head inside and the death toll is up to nine. A charleston clergy member spoke out after the shooting. Of course appalled by whats taken place. Listen to this. What we hear now, there was a caucasian, white man walk no an africanamerican church and open prayer while people were praying, having bible study. That is unacceptable. We have been praying if ar long time been on our knees for a long time but it is time to stand up. Earlier we heard from charlestons mayor regarding the Fatal Shooting at that church. I want to listen to a portion of what he told the media. Only reason someone can walk in to church and shoot people praying is out of hate. The only reason. It is the most dastardly act that one can possibly imagine. We will bring that person to justice as soon as possible. Earlier, we were telling you that jeb bush of course has recently announced that he would run for president. He has cancelled his event in charleston. That was set to be held on thursday. Of course it is 1 09 here. Just after 1 00 in the morning here. This is what he had to say. Thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy. It truly has been shocking. If you are just joining us on cnn, give you a recap on what unfolded in Charleston South Carolina. In the past few hours, there are reports of a shooting at roughly past 9 00 p. M. U. S. Eastern time. Police got the call. They headed out to the church. And the scene on the scene there were a number of victims and fatalities already. Some were transported to local hospitals. The number of People Killed from this incident is now up to nine. Officials do have a description of the suspect. Hes said to be in his early 20s, sandy blond hair small slender frame, wearing a gray sweatshirt blue jeans and timberland boots. But at this hour which has the community on edge the fact of the matter is that suspect is still at large. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley released a statement on her facebook and it says this michael and i are praying for the victims and families touched by tonights senseless tragedy at emanual ame church. Why we do not know the details, we do know we will never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another. Please join us in lifting up the victims and their families with our love and our prayers. We will continue to connect with our producer on the ground get local reaction and of course when theres new information on this breaking story we will bring it to you. At this moment we want to turn to another breaking situation. For months, Brian Williams future has been in question. Now theres williams has come to a and intive agreement with the network to stay on after his suspension in august. In february williams admitted he incorrectly claimed to be on board a suspect that was shot down in iraq. Cnn media correspondent is joining us from new york to talk about this. Brian, we have wondered if Brian Williams would return to the nbc nightly news chair and now it seems your sources are confirming thats the case. He wont be back on his show. Thats right. He will not come back to nbc nightly news but he will stay at nbc. This is a surprise to a lot of people. If you think back to february, when this scandal erupted and it was a big scandal at the time a lot of media pundits guessed he would you never come back to nbc at all. They guessed he would have to leave the network all together. In the past few days williams attorney and nbc executives have been able to strike a deal where he will stay at nbc but as you said, not as the nbc nightly news anchor. That means lester holt will be taking over the nightly news permanently. I will tell you why it is a big deal lester holt has been waiting for this job a long time. He has earned this job filling in for williams for a decade. He will be the first solo weekday news anchor in the United States. There have been africanamericans in fe past on weekends or cocan orring jobs but he is the first solo anchor who is black on a major nightly newscast. A sign of progress on a Network Format that is used to white men. You have two major bits of information that we are digesting here. We will get back to lester holt in a moment but Brian Williams the network had options to consider keeping him on but not putting him on nightly news avoids the worsecase scenario where he would be fired and banished from the network where he became a star. Now the Network Needs to strike the right balance in whatever his next role will be. He did show an interest in wanting to host programs might it be a step away from journalism . What do we think on that . Ntly sticking with the news side of things. He will take a role on msnbc, which is nbcs cable news channel which competes with cnn in the United States. He could be a breaking news anchor on big news days on msnbc. That will feel like a step down but often times when we see people do second acts will whether in politics or celebrity or somewhere else in the culture you see them take a step down but not out. A step down but a way to regain credibility, regain trust, certainly for a news anchor thats Brian Williams challenge now. Generally we see a forgiving culture. I look on facebook and twitter and see people want him back on television. Especially as more time moves on. On lester holt, when might we get confirmation he is in fact the new host. He happens to be on vacation this week. Maybe they want to make the announcement while he is on vacation so he doesnt have to report the news himself. You can imagine that might be an awkward situation. It is unclear if they will confirm the news on thursday. So far, nbc is not commenting. Thank you so much for your time today from new york. Thanks. Variety magazine chief tv critic brian lowrie is joining us from los angeles to talk about this. It is the major headline in the broadcast industry at the moment. Now that it seems as if Brian Williams is out of the nightly news anchor chair but will stay with the nbc family do you think this plan puts him on the path to redemption . You do still have viewers who dont trust him. I think they really took months to get to where i think people thought they would end up from the beginning which he had damaged his credibility to the point where having him as the main face of nbc news was problematic. But having him as a component of nbc news and taking advantage of all of the network had invested in Brian William as seemed to make sense. I think thats what they settled on. What do you make of the plan . These are early indications. Nbc is likely to make an official announcement soon. Were not sure. It seems as though he will work with msnbc, the 24hour news network that was lagging in the ratings in the u. S. Do you think he would be the kind of draw that Network Needs . What do you make of that plan . Well it certainly doesnt hurt. You take you know your multimilliondollar anchor whos drawn large audiences on the flagship nbc network and move him to a Cable Network thats been struggling and hope it injects life in to it. It is one of those situations where even if it doesnt work out, at least you have taken the stab and tried to get some value out of Brian Williams which he would not have if you simply severed ties with him. One of the reasons Brian Williams got in to this situation in the first place is he is a charming guy who can be off the cuff and go on a talk show and do sort of a funny play along interview. It would seem like using him in some respects on lighter stories, not only on msnbc but potentially on the network, as well in the context of the today show or as a contributor to the news magazines, would make some sense. I think the role is still being worked out. If they just park him at msnbc, i think that would be potentially under utilizing him. Based on what we know and wa we think will happen what do you make over all of this decision . Is it what you would have done . I think i wouldnt have fired him. I wouldnt have severed ties with him completely. I dont think you could have brought him back as the anchor for the nbc nightly news simply because of the way this was all botched in the early going. His sort of fumbled apology, which wasnt obviously a complete vetting of what had gone on. We have had other anchor crises and other anchor flareups. We have had George Stephanopoulos and his sdoe donations and bill riley and his tall tales that he never owned up to. There are other stories like this but a difference between being the face of nbc news and occupying that chair when thuf baggage dragging behind you. Certainly see how he does. Brian, the chief tv critic for variety magazine. Thank you for your time and insight tonight from l. A. Thank you. Were going to take a short break right now. We will have more on the breaking news we are following out of charleston. The Church Shooting. Nine people have died as a result of that and police are trying to find a suspect. More when we come back. Meet the worlds newest Energy Superpower. Surprised . In fact, america is now the worlds number one natural gas producer. And we could soon become number one in oil. Because Hydraulic Fracturing Technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. 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One other person was injured and is in the hospital. Officials have not yet released the names of the victims. Police chief greg mullen said he believes this was a hate crime. Authorities are searching for a white man in his 20s. The incident happened just a few hours ago. The emanual africanamerican Episcopal Church is said to be the oldest ame church in the southern United States. A short while ago, at the top of the hour in fact we heard from charlestons police chief and mayor about the fatal Church Shooting. Listen to this. This is a tragedy that no community should have