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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine peoplethis month in a shooting rampage at a storied church in Charleston, S.C., was questioned by an officer earlier 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 car.

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 illegally on the street. The arrest came after employees at a Columbia shopping mall reported that he had been asking suspicious questions.

Two weeks later, in March, an off-duty police officer who recognized Mr. Roof from the mall episode saw him at Earlewood Park in Columbia “loitering” in his car, according to a field 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.”

 He then contradicted himself by saying he “could have stayed home but did not want to,” the report said.

Mr. Roof allowed the police to examine his car, the report said. A search of the trunk yielded a forearm for an AR-15 and six 40-round magazines, the report said. Mr. Roof told the officer that he was hoping to buy an AR-15 to use at a range, but that he did not have enough money.

“They were unloaded magazines,” said a spokeswoman for the Columbia Police Department, Jennifer Timmons. “A crime wasn’t committed.”

Ms. Timmons said the Police Department had passed the information, including a report on Mr. Roof’s April arrest on a trespassing charge at the same mall, to the Charleston authorities for their investigation. She added that the department was not conducting a review of whether Mr. Roof had planned any shooting in Columbia.

The AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, which is legal, is a civilian version of the M-16 used by the military. In 2012, Adam Lanza used one to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

The assault rifle parts found in Mr. Roof’s car, first reported by The State newspaper in Columbia, raised questions about whether Mr. Roof had a big attack in mind, the paper reported.

But Ms. Timmons said, “It would be inappropriate to speculate why he had those or what he was going to do with those, if anything.”

Mr. Roof’s friends have said that he had spoken openly about plans for a mass killing, but that they did not take him seriously.

Contacted at his home on Thursday night, Mr. Roof’s father, Franklin, who is known as Benn, declined to comment. Mr. Roof’s defense lawyer, Boyd Young, released a statement Friday saying that the family would not answer questions until after the shooting victims had been buried.

“We would like to take this time to reflect on the victims and give their families time to grieve. We feel it would be inappropriate to say anything at this time other than that we are truly sorry for their loss,” Mr. Boyd said in the statement, according to The Associated Press.