See Shooting in Cole County Jail ruled self-inflicted for newer information.
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This article was updated at 10:53 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019.
Law enforcement authorities continue to investigate how an inmate was shot and wounded Monday evening at the Cole County Jail.
The incident occurred at 5:05 p.m. Monday, Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said during a news conference Monday night. The inmate was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, then remanded into jail custody after release from the hospital.
"There were no officers involved," Wheeler said. "We are looking at our procedures and what broke down to allow a weapon to be brought in the jail."
Wheeler said he could not say how many inmates had been involved in the incident.
"We're treating this as an assault case," Wheeler said. "The weapon used was a .22-caliber gun."
The jail was put on lockdown while cell searches took place.
Jefferson City Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol personnel contacted the Sheriff's Department after the incident offering help.
Approximately 20 officers and deputies from the surrounding area helped search every cell in the jail, Wheeler said in a news release Tuesday morning. No other weapons were found.
"We are still interviewing inmates, re-examining video, and, of course, reviewing procedures," Wheeler reported Tuesday.
He credited help from the Jefferson City Police Department, Lincoln University Police Department, Cole County Emergency Medical Services, and sheriff's departments from Moniteau and Callaway counties.
"I would also like to thank the Cole County Sheriff's Department staff," Wheeler said Tuesday. "Given a bad situation, they remained calm, stayed focused and continued to be professionals."
The jail was holding 140 inmates as of Monday night.
The only visitors who can physically visit with inmates are lawyers and clergy, when time allows, Wheeler said. All other visiting with inmates is done via video.
Jailers do not carry firearms in the jail, Wheeler noted.
"You can't have a pistol, and you can't have a knife," Wheeler said. "We'll have to interview the inmates who were in the pod where this incident occurred as well as anybody that shared a cell with the individual involved. There are 24 inmates housed in each pod."
Wheeler did not say how long the individual wounded had been in the jail.
This is the first such incident to occur in the Cole County Jail since it opened in 2011.