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.
Advertisement
The other inmate, who was not named, will face assault charges, the major said, adding no weapons were involved in the fight.
According to an incident report, Roof was attacked by Dwayne Stafford, who is now being held in the jail on assault, drug, and robbery charges from January 2015.
Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon has said Mr Roof does not want to press charges.
Roof has been housed at the centre since being brought back from North Carolina a day after the slayings of nine parishioners during a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 17 past year.
“He assaulted (Roof) for no reason”, Cannon said.
Stafford was housed in the same unit as Roof, which was previously referred to as “segregation housing” by Assistant Sheriff Mitch Lucas.
Officials are investigating how Stafford managed to get through a cell door to reach Roof. Cannon said the second officer was the one who separated Stafford and Roof within seconds of the start of the scuffle.
Officers checked cells in the area prior to that to make sure they were locked, he said.
This was the first time that any attack was attempted on Dylann Roof inside of the jail.
Just like a similar incident involving Colorado movie theater mass shooter, James Holmes, the attack on Roof brought praise on Twitter with calls for donations to Stafford’s jail commissary account.
After the incident, the attorney for Roof has reported his client does not wish to press any charges against Stafford for beating him up. “Up and down the chain, we have to ensure that our folks do not fall prey to the routine”.
He said the appropriate policies and procedures were in place, and they have adequate staffing.
Advertisement
Roof is charged with 33 federal offenses, including hate-crime charges for allegedly targeting his victims on the basis of their race and religion. His trial is set to begin January 17, 2017. Since then, federal prosecutors have nonetheless sought the death penalty–a move Roof’s lawyers are challenging on constitutional grounds.
