DECATUR (Ala.) -- After a scan revealed that he had a shotgun shell, a man was released from Alabama prison and ended up in a hospital.

Morgan County Jail prisoners are subject to a body scan before being admitted. A spokesperson Mike Swafford stated Thursday that a shell from a.410 gauge shotgun was found inside a prisoner.

Swafford stated that he was not booked in. "When our medical staff noticed that, they said, "He must go to the hospital."

Swafford stated that the man was arrested by another county law enforcement agency. He was later released on his own recognizance. It was not known what happened to the shell. Authorities have not released the name of the suspect or the motive for his arrest.

Swafford stated that the Sheriff's Department shared a scan of the scanner on its social media account in order to inform people about the screening process at jail. He said that while baggies and other containers containing drugs can sometimes be found inside prison cells, it is not common to find ammunition.

He said, "We don’t see a shotgun bullet very often." "We think it may have contained drugs, but we don’t know for sure."