Sources: Suspect snuck gun into Pittsburg police jail after arrest, shot officer and himself

start with that shooting that happened inside the Pittsburgh Police Station. KTVU has learned the suspect in that shooting last night managed to have a gun on him when he was brought into a jail cell for booking. Yeah, raises a lot of questions. Our crime reporter Henry Lee has been working this story. He is live now outside the police department there in Pittsburgh with the very latest. Henry. Well, I've learned from multiple sources the Pittsburgh police officer who was shot could have potentially been killed because the suspect who has a prior for manslaughter tried to shoot that officer a second time. KTVU has learned from multiple sources. An auto theft suspect was able to sneak a gun into a holding cell at the Pittsburgh Police Department, shoot an officer in the abdomen and ended up shooting himself in the foot before he was subdued during a chaotic struggle. And it could have been worse. I've also learned the suspect, 31 year old Michael Arthur Sanchez Martin, allegedly tried to shoot the injured officer a second time, but his gun jammed. Pittsburgh Mayor Dion Adams says she's grateful the officer is recovering. One of our officers is injured and we're continually praying to make sure that, you know, he pulls through safely and that he gets home to his family. Sources say it all began when police pulled the suspect over for a traffic violation near Summersville Road and Highway four in Antioch. They realized the car was stolen, but he refused to immediately come out in order to. He was eventually removed from the car and searched. He was taken in the back of a police car to the department's jail where the officer secured his weapon in a lock box. That officer would have searched the suspect again. Sources tell me while in his jail cell, the suspect asked for and got a blanket. I've learned surveillance video shows him using the blanket to cover his hands as he manipulated something while sitting on the toilet. The suspect then repeatedly banged on the door asking for water as part of a ruse. A second officer opened the door and was pistol whipped and shot. Despite being injured, the officer wrestled with the suspect who ended up shooting himself in the foot. A third officer heard sounds of a struggle on the police radio and helped subdue the suspect. I've learned police are looking into whether the initial officer was negligent for failing to find the gun and whether this weapon could have been disassembled into smaller parts during the car stop and then put back together in the jail cell. We want to make sure that we know all the details before we come to conclusions. Don Cameron's a police practices expert and former officer. I'm surprised that something wasn't found. I mean you should be doing a thorough search I mean just for drugs you know and you know I mean you start at the top and you work your way down. Now we've seen a number of flower deliveries here at the Pittsburgh Police Department. I also saw the second in command at the Contra Costa County DA's office walk into the department. He declined to comment. This investigation is ongoing. Live in Pittsburgh, Henry Lee, KTVU Fox 2 News. Yeah but Henry as I mentioned this does raise a lot of questions. Obviously there were some protocol or some steps that were that were missed here when it came to searching this suspect. That is true but we now know that the suspect certainly has been around the block. He's got a initially charged with murder then got convicted of voluntary manslaughter. It's very clear that he knows his way around potentially did not want to go back to prison. Yeah he knew the routine what to expect and perhaps was prepared to work around those protocols. Okay and also Henry just to clarify what the review process here looks like moving forward to figure out what went wrong. The DA's office is in charge of this review? I know the DA's office had inspectors here. There's also the officers who were involved were interviewed today and they will look into whether any administrative regulations were met or not met and of course the DA's office is going to look into the entire situation whether any officers or certainly the suspect would be charged in this case. Okay we'll keep following this investigation obviously. Okay Henry Lee live for us in Pittsburgh. Henry thank you.