Overview

• A 2017 mass shooting at the church resulted in 26 deaths, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
• Some families and community members wanted to preserve the site as a memorial, while others saw it as a painful reminder.
• A judge recently cleared the way for demolition, despite a lawsuit seeking a new vote on the church's future.
• The church had been kept as a memorial with names of the victims, but a new church was built for the congregation in 2019.
• The debate over handling sites of mass shootings continues across the U.S., with different communities taking varied approaches.