Dylann Roof, who is charged in the shooting of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, was reportedly assaulted in jail on Thursday.
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A weapon was not involved in the attack and Roof sustained only minor bruising on his face and back, Cannon said. Stafford’s cell, however, was not locked and he was able to run down a flight of stairs and attack Roof as he was about to step into the shower.
Even though he wasn’t charged, Stafford could still face internal disciplinary action as a result of the assault, according to Maj. Roof suffered only bruises before officers stopped the attack. “One of the biggest challenges [for police officers and detention officers] is that we do things day in day out and it becomes routine and sometimes because of that it is easy to become complacent”. After he was captured, Roof, who is white, told authorities he wanted to start a race war with the killings.
Officials initially said Stafford would be charged with assault, but Roof and his lawyer will not press charges.
Dylann Roof is facing the death penalty after murdering 9 Black churchgoers last June…
This is also why many have already donated money to Stafford’s prison commissary, they understand his rage, they feel the same way toward Roof, and they want to see Roof punished for his violence and racism. Prosecutors have said Roof was trying to make his way to Nashville, Tennessee, after the shootings.
Stafford had been arrested for first-degree assault, battery, strong-arm robbery and providing false information to a police officer.
Court records filed by prosecutors in federal court in July said Roof used eight Glock handgun magazines and fired about 80 rounds during the massacre which he had plotted for months.
He goes to federal trial in November, with a state trial set to begin next year.
Roof is awaiting both state and federal trials where he will face the death penalty, despite the fact that his attorney tried to get it taken off the table by filing a motion arguing that capital punishment is unconstitutional.
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Roof is charged with nine counts of murder in state court.
