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Jury selection then continued in the trial.

Photos: A look back at the tragic Emanuel AME Church shooting

Roof, who is white, is accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners during a Bible study at a predominantly black church in June 2015. Roof, who was 21 at the time, was arrested the next day at a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina, about 250 miles north of Charleston.

Roof is accused of murder and hate crimes. He has pleaded not guilty.

The state trial, in which Roof could also face the death penalty, is set for early next year.

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