DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — It’s been 10 years since a gunman walked inside the Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina and opened fire.
Nine people died. The Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr. was one of them.
His daughter told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington how, a decade later, she is finding healing through a documentary she produced about her father’s life.
The years didn’t dull the pain for Rose Simmons.
“I hate the act,” she said. “It’s definitely not normal.”
Simmons is in a club no one wants to be a part of. But now, she is opening up about that horrible evening in June 2015.
Simmons said her father, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Simmons Sr., was in Bible study at Mother Emanuel when a gunman walked in and started shooting.
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The shooter, who authorities said held white supremacist views, was convicted and sentenced to death for the nine murders.
Now, Simmons tells Washington that she is focused on healing.
“Do you forgive the shooter?” Washington asked Simmons.
“I forgive the situation because I can’t carry that around and love. They don’t fit in the same place,” Simmons said.
This week, Simmons premiered the documentary “One Last Breath” at New Birth Cathedral in Stonecrest.
The film details her father’s life and tragic death.
“Just to be able to tell that part of his life, that journey,” Simmons said.
When it comes to holding onto anger over the shooting, Simmons said she had to let go of that a long time ago.
“I elected not to carry that hate around with me, but to stay in the race for justice,” she told Washington.
Simmons said she plans to hold viewings of the documentary throughout metro Atlanta.
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