--- description: Dylann Roof, the accused Charleston shooter, had a handwritten list in his car noting six black churches in the Charleston area title: Dylann Roof Had a List of Local Black Churches in His Car image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45834bfee5320e7b/6988b2a1656a3f0cb0bce219/dylann-roof-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Courts](/tag/courts/) ## Courts Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dylann Roof Had a Handwritten List of Local Black Churches in Car by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 13, 2016 12:16 AM CUT  Dylann Roof, 21, listens to proceeding with assistant defense attorney William Maguire during a hearing at the Judicial Center in Charleston, S.C., on July 16, 2015. Dylann Roof, 21, listens to proceeding with assistant defense attorney William Maguire during a hearing at the Judicial Center in Charleston, S.C., on July 16, 2015.Randall Hill—Pool/Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 13, 2016 12:16 AM CUT The man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a Charleston, S.C., church last year had a handwritten list in his car noting other black churches in the area, according to testimony shared in his death penalty trial on Monday. Dylann Roof faces 33 counts of murder, attempted murder and committing a hate crime that resulted in death following the June 2015 massacre that stunned the nation. Monday’s developments in the trial, which began Dec. 7, revealed that Roof had named Morris Brown AME, Calvary Episcopal, Central Baptist, Ebenezer AME and a house of worship whose name on the note was smeared by water damage, in addition to Emanuel AME where the [shooting occurred](http://time.com/time-magazine-charleston-shooting-cover-story/ "undefined"). Investigators also discovered lists by Roof of different cities and towns in the state, noting the ratios of black to white people living in each, according to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agent Brittany Burke, who processed Roof’s car after the shooting. Other items found in Roof’s car include a laser sight device for a gun, receipts for his gun and ammunition, a Confederate flag and two American flags, one of which was burned, Burke said. A journal and letters Roof had written to his parents were also recovered from his car, according to [testimony last Friday](http://abcnews.go.com/US/accused-charleston-church-shooter-dylann-roof-handwritten-note/story?id=44138508 "undefined"). During Monday’s proceedings, SLED forensic firearms analyst James Green testified that 74 shell casings and dozens of bullet fragments were fired by Roof’s .45-caliber Glock, which ballistics tests [identified as the gun used in the shooting](http://www.postandcourier.com/church%5Fshooting/dylann-roof-trial-heads-into-new-week-of-testimony/article%5Fdbe60122-bfef-11e6-9ba5-5f9142dfcf38.html "undefined"), according to the _Post and Courier_. Roof bought the weapon in April, two months before the shooting, Ronald Thrailkill, a prosecution witness who sold the gun to Roof at Shooter’s Choice, said on Monday. When filling out a form that asks prospective buyers whether they are eligible to purchase a firearm, Roof checked “no” to a question about unlawful drug use, even though he had admitted to police that February to using an opiate addiction-treating narcotic without a prescription. That admission should have denied him under federal rules. But, Thrailkill said, the arrest was missed in the background check. He later bought the gun and returned for more ammunition. Thrailkill said he received a notification from the federal agency responsible for the background check on June 29—almost two weeks after the shooting—that the sale to Roof was to be denied. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/"},"headline":"Dylann Roof Had a Handwritten List of Local Black Churches in Car","datePublished":"2016-12-13T00:16:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:16:12.988Z","description":"Authorities also found lists of cities and towns in South Carolina, noting the ratios of black residents to white ones","url":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/","keywords":["Courts","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45834bfee5320e7b/6988b2a1656a3f0cb0bce219/dylann-roof-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45834bfee5320e7b/6988b2a1656a3f0cb0bce219/dylann-roof-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dylann Roof, 21, listens to proceeding with assistant defense attorney William Maguire during a hearing at the Judicial Center July 16, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina.","caption":"Dylann Roof, 21, listens to proceeding with assistant defense attorney William Maguire during a hearing at the Judicial Center in Charleston, S.C., on July 16, 2015.","creditText":"Randall Hill—Pool/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/courts/","name":"Courts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/","name":"Dylann Roof Had a Handwritten List of Local Black Churches in Car"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Dylann Roof Laughed During Church Slaying Confession to FBI","description":"Dylann Roof hesitated for about 20 seconds when an FBI agent asked him what he was doing on the night nine black church members were killed during Bible study.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cuajMgc9/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-12-10T17:37:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cuajMgc9.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/","duration":"PT1M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4598502/dylann-roof-trial-charleston-shooting/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```