Dylann Roof Was Questioned by Police in March, Record Shows

By FRANCES ROBLES
JUNE 26, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people this month in a shooting rampage at a storied church in Charleston, S.C., was questioned by an officer early this year while hanging around a park, according to a police record released Friday. The officer found parts for a semiautomatic rifle in the trunk of Mr. Roof’s trunk.

Mr. Roof, 21, was arrested and charged last week in the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, where on June 17 a white man sat in a Bible study class for about an hour before pulling out a gun and killing nine worshipers, all African-American.

Mr. Roof had at least two previous encounters with the police this year, including one in February, when he was charged with possessing Suboxone, a drug used to treat opiate addiction and frequently sold in illegal street transactions. The arrest came after employees at a Columbia shopping mall reported that he had been asking suspicious questions at different stores ...

Two weeks later, in March, an off-duty police officer who recognized Mr. Roof from the mall incident saw him at Earlewood Park in Columbia “loitering” in his car, according to a field interview report. When questioned, Mr. Roof said he was sitting in the park because “he is not allowed to stay at home when his father is not present” ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/dylann-roof-was-questioned-by-police-in-march-record-shows.html?_r=0