S.C. shooting victims include pastors, coach, librarian

Two pastors, a high school track coach, a longtime librarian and an aspiring rapper were among the nine victims of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre late Wednesday.

In a Thursday press conference, Charleston County, S.C., coroner Rae Wooten released the victims' names. They were identified as: Clementa Pinckney, 41, the senior pastor at the church; Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, an assistant pastor; Tywanza Sanders, 26; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; Cynthia Hurd, 54; Myra Thompson, 59; Daniel Simmons Sr., 74; and DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49.

The nine were killed Wednesday night by a lone white gunman. A suspect, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, was arrested on Thursday.

On the Facebook page of a sister, Shalisa Coleman, friends and family mourned Coleman-Singleton, who also worked as an athletics coach and speech specialist at a nearby school.

"My life has truly changed," Coleman wrote among dozens of condolence messages. One, identified as TaMisha Kimble, said, "I love you all. I could have never imagined this. I would not [have] wished this on my worst enemy."

On her Facebook and LinkedIn pages, Coleman-Singleton is identified as a speech language pathologist at Goose Creek High School, situated in a suburb of Charleston. She studied speech-language pathology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and also attended Montclair State University in New Jersey and South Carolina State University, where she studied similar specialties. In addition, she acted as girls' track and field coach at Goose Creek High.

According to her Facebook page, Coleman-Singleton lived in another Charleston suburb, Summerville. She wrote that she grew up in Newark, New Jersey's largest city, where she graduated from Vailsburg High School in 1987. She had two sons, Caleb and Chris, who is a student at Charleston Southern University, according to his Twitter page, and a daughter, Camryn, who attends school in the same district in which her mother taught.

On Twitter, Chris Singleton asked people to "Pray for my mom please!!!!!!!" In another post, he says, "Something extremely terrible has happened to my mom tonight, please pray for her and my family."

According to The Gazette, a Summerville-area newspaper, Coleman-Singleton had been employed by Berkeley County Public Schools since 2007.

The paper reported that Singleton's son Chris was a two-sport standout in baseball and basketball at Goose Creek High School and just finished his freshman season in Charleston Southern's baseball program.

Goose Creek Gators baseball coach Chris Pond told the Gazette that Coleman-Singleton was a very supportive mother to Chris and his two younger siblings and also an "awesome" colleague.

"She was one of the best baseball fans you could have for your team," he told the paper on Thursday morning. "She loved baseball and loved Chris…. She loved everyone and always had a positive attitude about everything. She'll be greatly missed."

In a statement to USA TODAY, Goose Creek principal Jimmy Huskey praised Coleman-Singleton as a "true professional."

"She cared about her students and was an advocate for them, always willing to listen to and talk with them," he said. "She was always there with a smile and ready to help. Mrs. Singleton will be deeply missed by the 'Gator Nation' and we can never replace her as a member of our team.

"As the head girls' track coach," Huskey continued, "she was dedicated to her athletes and worked countless hours to help them obtain their team and individual goals."

Apart from Pinckney and Coleman-Singleton, the other victims were these:

• Tywanza Sanders, who was a 2014 graduate of Allen University in the state capital, Columbia, where he got a degree in business administration.

According to his Facebook page, Sanders was originally from Charleston but was living in Columbia. An aspiring rapper who went by the name Fresh Wanza, according to the entertainment site Heavy.com, his songs included the titles Whats Wrong With Just Being Black and Making It. A friend told the site that Sanders was working as a barber at the time of his death.

"He was a quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education," said Allen University President Lady June Cole, as quoted by The State, a Columbia newspaper. "He presented a warm and helpful spirit as he interacted with his colleagues."

Cole also described Sanders as an outgoing student with an "inkling toward entrepreneurship."

"We're in mourning, and we are praying for the families of the victims," Cole said. "We hope that everyone will just respect their loss as well."

On his Instagram account, Sanders called himself a poet, artist and businessman. Hours before the shooting, he put up his final post, a meme with a quote from Jackie Robinson. It read: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

• Ethel Lee Lance, who was identified by her grandson Jon Quil Lance as someone who had worked at the church for 30 years. The New York Times reported that Lance was a sexton at the church.

Outside Medical University Hospital, the area trauma center where the wounded were taken, Lance smoked a cigarette and talked about his grandmother, the Post and Courier reported.

"I'm lost, I'm lost," he said. "Granny was the heart of the family."

"She's a Christian, hardworking; I could call my granny for anything. I don't have anyone else like that."

• Susie Jackson, who was a longtime Emanuel AME Church member and a cousin of Lance.

• Cynthia Hurd, who was a regional branch manager from the Charleston County Public Library system, which closed its 16 locations Thursday in her honor, according to the Post and Courier.

"Her loss is incomprehensible, and we ask for prayers for her family, her co-workers, her church and this entire community as we come together to face this tragic loss," the library said in a statement.

Library officials said they were "devastated by the senseless shootings." They called Hurd "a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth."

Hurd worked at the library for 31 years, serving as manager of two branches, both of which will also be closed on Friday, the library said.

• Myra Thompson. Her daughter Denise Quarles declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

• Daniel L. Simmons Sr., who was a retired pastor from another church in Charleston. His daughter-in-law, Arcelia Simmons of Newport News, Va., told ABC News that Simmons attended Emanuel AME Church every Sunday for services and Wednesdays for Bible study. He is listed on the church's website as a member of the ministerial staff.

• DePayne Middleton Doctor wasan enrollment counselor at Southern Wesleyan University's Charleston campus, a friend told The Associated Press. She joined the church at the beginning of the year and soon began teaching Wednesday evening Bible class. On her LinkedIn page, she listed herself as a "management professional." A mother of four daughters, she was a minister who sang in the church choir, the Post and Courier reported.

On Facebook, family member Laurie Middleton wrote: "My beautiful songbird. This is a hard one to swallow. I will truly miss you my love. Your beautiful personality, your laughter, your smile ,and your love for everyone."