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Thousands of people met up Sunday evening on Charleston’s main bridge in a show of unity and to join hands in solidarity.

Churchgoers across the country are praying for the nine parishioners fatally shot at a historic black church in Charleston. From Little Rock, Ark., to Atlanta, Chicago and Portland, Maine, pastors of all denominations Sunday urged their flocks to stand in unity with the families of the victims and to resist the kind of hatred that appeared to behind Wednesday’s mass killing.

The interim pastor for the historic black church where nine parishioners were fatally shot says funeral services for most of the victims will take place later this week. The Rev. Norvel Goff also confirmed a previous report that funeral services for the church’s late head pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, will take place Friday. Goff declined to release specific details on services for the others until family members have a chance to finalize arrangements.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten said the autopsies of the nine parishioners fatally shot at a historic black church in Charleston have been completed. Wooten said that as expected, each of the nine died of multiple gunshot wounds, and all of the deaths have been classified as homicides.

The parents of Trayvon Martin are offering their condolences for the fatal shooting of nine black parishioners and urging people in the U.S. to tackle the issue of racism “head-on.” Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin issued a statement saying they were “profoundly saddened” by the news of Wednesday’s shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.

Police say someone spray-painted the message “Black Lives Matter” on a statue memorializing the Confederacy in Charleston several days after a shooting at a historic black church. Police spokesman Charles Francis said city workers used a tarp to cover up the graffiti marking the stone pedestal beneath the statue. He said he didn’t know when the graffiti was spray-painted there, but said it would be cleaned off. He said police are investigating.

Source: Associated Press