Dylann Roof, the suspected gunman in the South Carolina church shooting, had recently been given a weapon as a birthday present, according to a relative, the BBC reports.

The 21-year-old’s uncle told Reuters that Mr Roof’s father gave him a .45-calibre handgun.

Carson Cowles said he tried to mentor his nephew, who had no job or driver’s licence, but Roof was not receptive to this idea.

“I actually talked to him on the phone briefly for just a few moments and he was saying well I’m outside target practicing with my new gun,” Mr Cowles said, describing a phone call around the time of Mr Roof’s birthday in April.