VP Biden attends services at Charleston church

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at worship services of the historic African-American church in South Carolina where nine people were killed during a Bible study.

Sporting a purple tie Sunday, a symbolic color of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Biden said it was not his first visit to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, and that he knew the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of the church who was slain along with eight others earlier this month.

"We came back because my family and I wanted to show solidarity with the families and with the church," Biden said.

Biden received a standing ovation after reading a selection of scripture.

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