The daughter of a slain pastor killed in the 2015 Emanuel AME church shooting, reflected on the event's 10-year anniversary. 

Eliana Pinckney, a recent college graduate, was just 11 when the incident occurred. Now at 21, she said she’s able to grasp the impact that her father’s passing had on the country. 

"I can distinctly remember, at 11, knowing the magnitude President Obama held," she told CBS News in a recent sit-down interview. 

Her father, Clementa Pinckney, was among those gunned down by white supremacist Dylann Roof in a targeted, racially motivated terrorist attack against the Black congregation members who were attending Bible study. Nine people lost their lives that day.

The institution held deep significance, as it was the oldest Black congregation in the South. 

Among the other survivors are Pinckney’s wife, Jennifer, and youngest daughter, Malana. The widow recalled the terrifying incident, marking it as a bittersweet event since it coincided with Eliana’s graduation from Temple University.  

“Your father should’ve been here to witness and be a part of all of this,” she told her daughters during a recent interview.   

The grotesque incident captured the world’s attention and put a spotlight on deep racial tensions that often turn into violence against Black communities. 

As penance, the federal government committed to $88 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by the families and survivors of the June 17, 2015 massacre. As previously reported by BET, the $88 million settlement includes $63 million for the families of the slain and $25 million for survivors of the shooting.  

In response to the event, U.S. Attorney Beth Drake said in 2017: 

“Contrary to Roof’s desire to sow the seeds of hate, his acts did not tear this community apart. Instead of agitating racial tensions as he had hoped, Roof’s deadly attack inside Mother Emanuel became an attack on all of us, and the community stood in solidarity.”