Emanuel AME gives $1.5M to families of 9 killed; keeps $1.8M

The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2008

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Charleston church where nine African-Americans were shot in what police say were racist killings has given $1.5 million of donations to family members of the victims.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church kept about $1.8 million of donations for building maintenance, an endowment and a scholarship fund.

The money was donated to the church in the months after the shootings last June. Church leaders say only $280,000 worth of donations were specified for the victims' families, and the church decided to add more than $1 million to those gifts.

Some family members are upset the church kept more than it gave to them.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com