Son of parishioner killed by Dylann Roof drafted by Chicago Cubs

Chris Singleton, a right fielder with Charleston Southern University, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, nearly two years after his mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, was gunned down by Dylann Roof at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

In March 2016, then-USC baseball coach Chad Holbrook called Singleton an inspiration who was helping South Carolina heal the wounds caused by the racist massacre of 9 worshipers at Charleston’s historic black church on June 15, 2015.

The day after the shooting, Singleton addressed the media.

“I just say love is always stronger than hate,” he said. “If we just love the way my mom would, then the hate won’t be nearly as strong as the love is.”

Singleton pressed on with his baseball career and this season batted .276 with four home runs for Charleston Southern, while also serving as the lone parental figure for his younger siblings, Camryn and Caleb, USA Today reported.

Singleton was picked by the Cubs in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

In April this year, Dylann Roof pleaded guilty in state court to killing the nine African-American parishioners, ending a nearly two-year, gut-wrenching saga for the survivors and the families of those killed.

Under the plea agreement, Roof will spend nine consecutive life sentences in prison but is in federal prison awaiting the death sentence imposed after being found guilty in federal court in December of hate crimes.

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Son of parishioner killed by Dylann Roof drafted by Chicago Cubs."