IN PHOTO: A police officer continues to stand guard during a vigil outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015.
IN PHOTO: A police officer continues to stand guard during a vigil outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June 20, 2015. The church will reopen tomorrow for its first service since Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old with a criminal record, is accused of killing nine people at a Bible-study meeting in the historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The relatives of the nine victims of the Charleston shooting in South Carolina, U.S. forgave the 21-year-old gunman, Dylann Storm Roof. The young gunman appeared in court in Charleston on Friday without showing emotion.

He faced the relatives of the victims and apparently showed no emotion when a daughter of a victim told him “I forgive you.” Police find the crime of killing the African-American victims on Wednesday as a “hate crime.”

Meanwhile, BBC reports the Justice Department said there’s an ongoing investigation whether it might have been an act of terrorism. According to the statement released, the shooting was "designed to strike fear and terror into this community" and the department is considering all possibilities.

In Charleston, many people gathered to remember the victims with prayers and songs. The Roof family also released a statement through their lawyer, which reads, "Words cannot express our shock, grief and disbelief as to what happened that night. We are devastated and saddened by what occurred. We have all been touched by the moving words from the victims' families offering God's forgiveness and love in the face of such horrible suffering." After a horrific killing, the church will return on Sunday and hold a mass at 9:30 a.m., according to Live5 News.

The 21-year-old gunman has apparently admitted the crime. According to the authorities, Roof, who resides in Lexington, South Carolina, attended the bible study at the historically black church before he shot and killed the church-goers on Wednesday night. Roof told the investigators his purpose in doing the crime is to start a race war.

One of the victims was Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who’s personally known by U.S. President Barack Obama. The president released a statement on Thursday, which reads, "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.”

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