Dwayne Stafford is the South Carolina inmate who assaulted Dylann Roof inside the Charleston County Detention Center on August 4, 2016, punching the accused Emanuel AME Church gunman in the face and body near a shower area before detention officers pulled him off. Roof, awaiting trial for the murder of nine Black parishioners, was bruised but not hospitalized. Stafford, 25 at the time, had been jailed for more than a year and a half on unrelated charges he denied.
What Happened the Morning of the Attack
At about 7:45 a.m., Stafford left his cell in the jail’s special management unit, ran down a set of stairs, and reached Roof near the shower area.1ABC News. Suspected Charleston Church Shooter Dylann Roof Assaulted in Jail By Stafford’s own account, he walked up and said, “Mind if I join?” before striking him.2Count On 2. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford He punched Roof multiple times before officers intervened. Roof was cleared by jail medical staff with bruising to his face and back.
Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon called the assault “unprovoked” and said it was not coordinated. Roof and his attorney said they had no interest in pressing charges over the attack.3Time. Dylann Roof Assaulted in Jail
Why Stafford Said He Did It
Speaking to reporters after his release, Stafford tied the decision to the church killings and to a conversation with Roof at the jail. He said he had held back when other inmates cursed at Roof on arrival, but the shooting weighed on him: “That could’ve been my people. No, they were my people. I just didn’t understand how he could do that. Pure evil.”4NBC News. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford
He said the trigger was Roof insulting his recently deceased father and voicing a desire to start a race war. About the attack he was blunt: “I beat Dylann Roof’s ass.” He added, “I wouldn’t say it’s justice, but I felt as if I did the right thing.”4NBC News. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford
How Stafford Got Out of His Cell
A nine-page internal investigation found that Stafford had jammed his cell door open and that the door stayed unlocked for twelve hours before the attack without any staff noticing. The deputy assigned to the special management unit was on a break when Stafford left his cell.5KATU. Lessons Learned From Dylann Roof’s Jail Shower Assault, Says Sheriff’s Office
The report blamed the breach on “complacency” rather than any gap in the rules. Maj. Eric Watson of the sheriff’s office said existing policies were adequate and that enforcement was the issue: “You cannot write a policy for everything. Sometimes you have to use a little common sense.” Officers on duty received verbal counseling and remedial training. No new security policies were adopted.5KATU. Lessons Learned From Dylann Roof’s Jail Shower Assault, Says Sheriff’s Office One detention officer, Christopher Murray, was fired on August 23, 2016, and later permitted to resign on appeal; he sued the sheriff’s office in May 2017, alleging he had been used as a scapegoat.6Courthouse News Service. Former Jailer Says Scapegoat in Assault on Church Gunman
Who Dwayne Stafford Was
Stafford had a hard childhood, cycling through more than a dozen foster homes in South Carolina between the ages of three and eighteen. He began accumulating arrests and jail time at 21 and was homeless when he was booked into the Charleston County Detention Center in January 2015.4NBC News. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford
By the day of the attack he had been held there 571 days on charges of strong-armed robbery and assault and battery stemming from an incident outside a gas station. He maintained he was innocent, saying “they got the wrong guy.” Bond was set at $100,000.7CBS News. Man Accused of Attacking Charleston Shooter Dylann Roof Out on Bond
Public Reaction and Release
News of the assault spread quickly. On social media, users cheered Stafford and asked whether there was a GoFundMe for his bail and commissary.8ABC News 4. Charleston Church Shooter Assaulted in Jail Community activists called the jail to ask about his bond. Strangers sent money, food, clothing, and offers of temporary housing.4NBC News. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford
Stafford walked out of the detention center shortly before 8:30 p.m. on August 5, 2016, roughly 24 hours after the attack. His attorney, Marvin Pendarvis, had arranged with a bail bondsman to post the $100,000 bond.2Count On 2. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford He was homeless on release and accepted temporary housing from supporters he had never met. “I respect people, especially when they say I don’t condone violence but you did the right thing,” he told NBC News. “I just look straight up at the sky and thank Jesus because that could’ve gone really wrong.”4NBC News. Jailhouse Fight With Dylann Roof Leads to Fame and Future for Dwayne Stafford
Why the Attack Drew So Much Attention
Roof was in the Charleston County jail because on June 17, 2015, he entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study and murdered nine Black parishioners in what prosecutors described as a crime motivated by racist hatred. A federal jury convicted him on 33 counts in December 2016 and sentenced him to death the following month.9U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Jury Sentences Dylann Storm Roof to Death The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in October 2022.10NPR. Dylann Roof Supreme Court Death Sentence Appeal Roof is held on federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana.