{"id":145,"date":"2015-06-26T18:45:44","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T22:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=145"},"modified":"2018-03-01T13:42:24","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T18:42:24","slug":"dylann-roof-had-ar-15-parts-during-police-stop-in-march-record-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=145","title":{"rendered":"Dylann Roof Had AR-15 Parts During Police Stop in March, Record Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0FRANCES ROBLES<\/span><\/a><\/span>

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Dylann Roof was escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C., after being apprehended last week.<\/span>\u00a0Credit<\/span>Chuck Burton\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2014 Dylann Roof, the man accused of\u00a0killing nine people<\/a>this 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\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

Mr. Roof, 21,<\/a>\u00a0was 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cloitering\u201d in his car, according to a field report. When questioned, Mr. Roof said he was sitting in the park because \u201che is not allowed to stay at home when his father is not present.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/i>He then contradicted himself by saying he \u201ccould have stayed home but did not want to,\u201d the report said.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were unloaded magazines,\u201d said a spokeswoman for the Columbia Police Department, Jennifer Timmons. \u201cA crime wasn\u2019t committed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms. Timmons said the Police Department had passed the information, including a report on Mr. Roof\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0AR-15 semiautomatic rifle<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

The assault rifle parts found in Mr. Roof\u2019s car, first reported by The State newspaper in Columbia, raised questions about whether Mr. Roof had a big attack in mind,\u00a0<\/span>the paper reported<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Ms. Timmons said, \u201cIt would be inappropriate to speculate why he had those or what he was going to do with those, if anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Roof\u2019s friends have said that he had spoken openly about plans for a mass killing, but that they did not take him seriously.<\/p>\n

Contacted at his home on Thursday night, Mr. Roof\u2019s father, Franklin, who is known as Benn, declined to comment. Mr. Roof\u2019s defense lawyer, Boyd Young, released a statement Friday saying that the family would not answer questions until after the shooting victims had been buried.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Mr. Boyd said in the statement, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n