Congressman Cleaver Comments on the Shootings and Death in Charleston, SC

"My heart is heavy today for the victims, both living and dead, and their friends and family. As a United Methodist minister, I am deeply troubled to hear of any life lost to violence and hate. After learning of the depraved and profane shooting of Christians, because they were black, in their oasis—their sanctuary— I remembered my own commitment to Bishop W. T. Handy, during my term as Kansas City's Mayor, to conduct the Wednesday evening Bible study and, of course, the Sunday worship service. This attack, committed in the house of God, as congregants studied the word of God, saddens me beyond the telling. Reverend Clementa Pinckney and the men and women of Emanuel AME Church walked by faith, and not by sight. I join with people of faith, and of goodwill today, to pray for peace, to strive for justice, and to create a better, more harmonious world."

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.