Cannon said that Roof and his lawyer have no desire to pursue charges against Stafford.
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Inmate Dwayne Stafford ran down the stairs and attacked Roof, 22, he said.
Roof was not seriously injured and was medically evaluated at the Cannon Detention Center following the 7:45 a.m. incident, said Maj.
“We are looking at it internally, at the very least we have complacency”, Cannon said. In this instance, one guard happened to be on break while the other guard was summoned to another area of the prison to deliver toilet paper to an inmate.
“It’s a matter of, again, making sure that folks stay at a heightened sense of awareness and that they do follow those policies and procedures”, he said.
“This serves as a wake-up call”, he added.
Stafford is now jailed on charges of strong-armed robbery and first-degree assault and battery in pending cases. Roof was checked out by jail medical staff and returned to his cell.
Roof faces the death penalty for the June 2015 shooting that killed nine people, including Rev. Clementa Pinckney, at the historic black church, known as “Mother Emanuel” African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is now awaiting trial.
According to jail records, Roof is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, while Stafford is 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 144 pounds.
Roof and his attorney are not pressing charges, but an internal affairs investigation will look into why Stafford wasn’t properly contained, NBC News reports.
Prosecutors have also said that Roof discussed starting a race war and posed with the controversial Confederate battle flag before the killings.
Roof is facing the death penalty in both federal and state court, where prosecutors charged him with dozens of offenses, including murder.
He faces the death penalty.
All nine of the deceased victims of Roof’s mass shooting were Black.
Roof is charged with nine counts of murder in state court.
Cannon said his office will investigate how Stafford was able to exit his cell, which should have been locked while Roof was showering. That trial is set to begin in November of this year.
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His state and federal attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
