Essex County Mourns For Charleston Shooting Victims

Essex County now has a direct tie to the tragic shooting deaths of nine people at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina… Sharonda Coleman-Singleton.

Following the revelation that one of the mothers killed in the massacre was a Newark resident, MSU President Susan Cole reported on Monday that Coleman-Singleton had obtained her master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the university in 1993.

Cole informed the community about the connection on the university’s website:

“The Montclair State University community, like communities across the nation, has been saddened and distressed by the tragic shooting in South Carolina… That awful event has a particular poignancy for us because one of its victims was a member of this university community.”

According to Cole:

“Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was putting her education to good service, raising a family, working as a speech pathologist and coach at Goose Creek High School, and serving as assistant pastor at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She had found a constructive path in this life, using her individual strengths and her educational preparation to positive ends, until her life was senselessly cut short [on June 17].”

The confessed shooter – a 21-year-old resident of Columbia, S.C. – has said that he was trying to start a race war, a report stated.

ESSEX COUNTY MOURNS

The tragic shooting has spurred vigils and services across Essex County.

• The South Orange - Maplewood Clergy Association held an interfaith vigil in solidarity with the victims on June 19
• An interfaith group of 100 Montclair residents hosted a vigil at Union Baptist Church in Montclair on Saturday
• The Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress held a vigil and march for Coleman Singleton and the other victims of the shooting on Friday at the Lincoln Monument
• The New Hope Baptist Church of East Orange led a prayer vigil on Sunday

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