By Greg Lacour

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – A jury on Thursday found avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof guilty of federal hate crimes resulting in the deaths of nine black parishioners at a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year.

Jurors also said Roof, 22, was guilty of obstructing the exercise of religion for those he shot and killed during a church Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.

(Reporting by Greg Lacour; writing by Colleen Jenkins; editing by Jonathan Oatis and G CRosse)

IMAGE: South Carolina church massacre shooting suspect Dylann Roof is seen in U.S. District Court of South Carolina evidence photo that was originally taken from Roof’s website.  Courtesy U.S. District Court of South Carolina/Handout via REUTERS