CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Before he rose to his feet during a bible study and shot nine people dead, Dylann Roof cased Charleston's historic Emanuel AME Church for months last year, officials testified at his federal trial Tuesday.
On day five of Roof's capital trial, FBI agent Joseph Hamski said GPS data indicated that the suspect made seven different trips to the church in the months leading up to the June 17, 2015, massacre. On some occasions, he said, Roof lingered in the area for hours before returning home.
Roof, 22, is being tried on federal hate crimes charges related to the attack, which killed nine people. An admitted white supremacist, Roof told investigators that he'd hoped to ignite a race war with the shooting rampage.
During one trip around Christmas 2014, Hamski testified, Roof pulled into the church parking lot in the same area he would park his car on the night of the shootings.
Related
During his trips, Hamski added, Roof almost always visited some historical site with ties to the Civil War or the Confederacy, which is often linked to white supremacy.
In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Jay Richardson called the attack "cold and calculating."
Richland County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Justin Britt also testified Tuesday, describing his interaction with Roof's mother and boyfriend after the shootings. Roof's mother, he said, was entirely cooperative with police and even handed them a digital camera containing several snapshots of her son in white supremacist attire.
"I think there's something you need to see," he recalled her as saying.
Prosecutors are expected to wrap their case against Roof, perhaps as early as Wednesday. Defense arguments and witnesses will follow.
Roof has pleaded not guilty in the case, which could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.
