South Carolina church shooting suspect attacked by a fellow inmate, officials say

Dylann Roof, the white man charged in the shooting massacre of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, was assaulted in jail Thursday by a black inmate, officials said.

Roof, 22, had minor bruising to his face and back, according to a statement from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. He was examined by medical staff at the jail and was cleared to return to his original housing unit, the office said.

The other inmate, Dwayne Stafford, ran down the stairs from his cell after Roof went to the shower around 7:45 a.m. and hit him, The Associated Press said, citing a police report.

An incident report initially indicated that Stafford would be charged with assault, but Roof told detectives through his lawyer that he did not want to press charges, the Sheriff's Office said.

A deputy assigned to the housing unit intervened in the assault. Another deputy who was also assigned to the unit had apparently left for a break, the Sheriff's Office said. The authorities said they would conduct an investigation.

Roof has been at the jail since a day after the June 17, 2015, killings of nine parishioners during a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church.

Prosecutors have said he plotted the attack for months and chose that target because it was a nationally known historically black church. Officials said Roof hoped the attack would fan racial flames and exact revenge for what he believed were wrongs that African-Americans committed against white people. Before the shooting, he was photographed holding a Confederate battle flag and a handgun.

He faces the death penalty in coming trials in federal and state courts. His federal trial is set for November.

Stafford, 26, is awaiting trial on assault and robbery charges.

Sheriff J. Al Cannon Jr., said it was the first episode involving Roof. He could not say if race was a motive for the attack, AP reported.

"There is nothing that I am aware of beyond the obvious speculation that we would all have, given the nature of the situation," the sheriff said.