South Carolina church shooter suspect, got a gun for birthday - Uncle

The man suspected of fatally shooting nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, was given a gun by his father as a 21st birthday present in April, his uncle told Reuters on Thursday.

Law enforcement officers were at the home of Dylann Roof's mother on Thursday morning, the uncle, Carson Cowles, said in an interview.

The FBI has identified the gunman in the deadly shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina, church as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper said on its website.

Cowles said he recognized Roof in a photo released by police, and described him as quiet and soft-spoken. Roof's father gave him a .45-caliber pistol for his birthday this year, Cowles said.