A jaw-dropping security breach unfolded on Thursday, October 16, when 32-year-old inmate Louis Santos allegedly smuggled a .22-caliber handgun into a transport van—hidden inside his body—and fired a shot that wounded another prisoner while en-route to the Westchester County Jail.
Authorities say five prisoners were being moved from the Bronx to Westchester when a shot rang out in a police van. Officers quickly pulled the vehicle over; one of the inmates was found bleeding from a leg wound. Meanwhile Santos is accused of producing the hidden weapon from an extremely unconventional hiding place—his buttocks—and using it while still in custody.
The van brought the wounded inmate back to the police department’s HQ, where the gun was recovered in the vehicle. Investigators described the method of concealment as “unthinkable.” The incident has launched a full review of prisoner-screening procedures. Two officers who oversaw the transport have been reassigned to modified duty pending the investigation.
Police say Santos was initially arrested on separate charges and was being transported when the shooting occurred. He now faces additional charges including attempted assault with a deadly weapon and weapons possession behind bars. Meanwhile the injured inmate, whose identity has not been released, is in stable condition as he recovers.
In the aftermath, the department announced it will begin using portable metal-detector screens during prisoner handling and transport. The goal: make sure no weapon ever gets past chain-of-custody checks again. It’s a major upgrade prompted by what one official called “an extremely serious breach of security.”
Though the full details of how the weapon got past search protocols are still under review, law-enforcement sources say it appears Santos used the element of surprise and an unconventional concealment method to defeat detection. The incident is now being examined by internal affairs and the district attorney’s office, which could bring the matter before a grand jury.
As the wounded inmate recuperates and Santos awaits his next court date, questions now swirl about transport-van security and the oversight that allowed a heavily concealed handgun into custody. The case underscores the risks behind prisoner transport and has triggered an urgent push for stronger safeguards.