CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. » An inmate booked in the same jail as a Dylann Roof was able to escape his cell and land several punches on the suspected Charleston church shooter after security failures, officials said.

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said Roof, 22, was taken from his protective custody cell at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center this morning and walked downstairs to take a shower. Roof, as well as other inmates in that unit, are let out individually.

Before he was able to reach the showers, inmate Dwayne Stafford, 25, of Goose Creek, S.C., ran downstairs and assaulted Roof by punching him multiple times, Cannon said during this afternoon’s news conference.

“He assaulted (Roof) for no reason,” Cannon said.

Cannon described Roof’s injuries as “relatively minor,” including bruising around his face and back. He said Roof was in a defensive posture during the assault and did not fight back.

The sheriff said Roof and his attorney have indicated they do not want to bring charges against Stafford. Cannon said the jail is investigating whether to file charges against Stafford for the assault, though it is difficult it when witnesses are not cooperating.

Detention officers are supposed to check the doors in that unit to make sure all cells are locked when inmates are let out separately.

“We, obviously, are looking into the issue of the door lock and what may have failed there,” Cannon said.

One detention officer escorting Roof was taking a break, which is not normal protocol, and another was delivering toilet paper to another inmate. Cannon said the second officer was the one who separated Stafford and Roof within seconds of the start of the scuffle.

Cannon said this has not happened before with Roof and described it as a “wakeup call” for officers falling into complacency when following routines day after day. He said it does not appear that staff followed the jail’s policies following up to the incident.

“We have adequate policies in place,” he said. “It’s a matter of making sure folks stay at a heightened sense of awareness and follow those policies and procedure to stay on top of these very serious inmates.”

Cannon did not name the detention officers involved but said one has experience and he believes served as a sergeant at another detention center.

The officers are still being interviewed, and jail officials have not determined if there will be disciplinary action taken.

When asked if Stafford’s assault was racially motivated, Cannon said he could not speculate on the issue.

“There’s nothing I’m aware of, beyond the obvious speculation we all have given the nature of the situation,” he said.

Stafford was originally booked into the facility Jan. 3, 2015, on charges of providing false information to a police officer, strong armed robbery and first-degree assault and battery. Cannon said he believes the assault charges stem from the assault of a police officer.

Stafford is being held under a $101,090 bond.

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©2016 The State (Columbia, S.C.)