Cops found AR-15 part, ammo in Dylann Roof's car months ago
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Three months before a South Carolina man allegedly opened fire inside an historic black church in Charleston, killing 9 people, police found parts and ammunition for an AR-15 rifle in his car, according to a police report.
On March 13, an officer approached Dylann Roof's car in Columbia, S.C., after receiving a call from an off-duty officer saying that Roof - whom he had recently arrested for drugs - was "loitering in his vehicle for an extended period" in an area park. According to the report, the officer asked Roof what he was doing at the park and he initially said he was there because he wasn't allowed to be at home when he father wasn't there, but then changed his story, saying that he just didn't want to be at home.
The officer then searched Roof and the vehicle and found no illegal contraband, but claimed he did find an accessory for an AR-15 rifle and six 40-round magazines in the trunk. Roof told the officer he wanted to eventually buy an AR-15, but did not currently have the money.
The officer ran Roof through the National Crime Information Center database and cleared him to go.
Roof, 21, is currently being held without bail, charged with nine counts of murder by the state of South Carolina. The federal government may also indict him on hate crimes charges. According to a manifesto posted online, Roof allegedly chose Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church as his target because of its historical significance:
"I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country."
The nine people killed in the massacre at the Emanuel AME Bible Study on June 17 were State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, 41, a pastor at the church; Cynthia Hurd, 54; Tywanza Sanders, 26; Myra Thompson, 59; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; and the reverends DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Sharonda Singleton, 45; and Daniel Simmons Sr., 74.
Pinckney is being laid to rest Friday afternoon. President Obama delivered the eulogy at his service.
