Dylann Roof and Dwayne Stafford

WCSC Screenshot

More than 18 months after his arrest, the man who assaulted Dylann Roof is out on bond—less than 48 hours after an online donation fund was set up in his name.


According to court records, 26-year-old Dwayne Stafford, who was jailed on charges of strong armed robbery, assault and lying to police, was released Friday night, WCSC-Charleston reports.

The altercation between Roof, 22, the man charged with murdering nine people at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., last summer, and Stafford took place early Thursday morning at the Charleston County Detention Center.


According to reports, Roof was let out of his cell at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday to take a shower, and Stafford ran down the stairs and assaulted him, hitting him in his face and back, according to Atlanta Black Star.

When word of the altercation hit the news, social media cheered, with some pointing out how you could donate that very same day to the man some see as a hero.

The tweet sharing the website to donate to Stafford has been shared more than 2,500 times, and some folks must have felt compelled to give, because Stafford—whose bond was set at more than $100,000—left jail a little more than a day later.




WCSC reports that after Stafford’s release, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office commented that it has “no control” on who posts bond for incarcerated inmates or how.

Roof is currently being held in solitary confinement at the Charleston County Detention Center and is escorted out of his cell only for daily recreation and showers.


Officials are launching an investigation into how the accused mass shooter was attacked in the shower. Roof, through his attorney, says they are not pressing charges against Stafford.

Read more at WCSC and Atlanta Black Star.