A Kane County Jail inmate in the state of Illinois who, following surgery, took a hospital employee hostage after seizing a correctional officer’s gun, has been shot and killed by a SWAT officer.
The incident started about 12:30pm local time Saturday afternoon at the Delnor Hospital in west suburban Geneva, after the inmate apparently managed to overpower the officer and seize his weapon.
Tywon Salters, 21, then took a female member of the medical staff hostage inside the hospital’s emergency room area, Kane County sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said.
The inmate was holding that gun on a female hospital employee and keeping her hostage for hours as the SWAT team and crisis negotiators arrived at the scene.
The situation was contained to a single room in the emergency area of the hospital and there was no threat to patients, authorities said.
In an afternoon press conference, Kane County Sherriff office revealed that police eventually shot and killed the suspect when negotiations that lasted hours broke down. The hostage is now safe.
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The inmate from Chicago has been in the hospital since May 8 after being taken into custody on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle, Kane County sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler told reporters.
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A hospital worker told the Chicago Sun Times that Salters was at the hospital for surgery. After he awoke from anesthesia, he managed to knock out his jail warden to take the officer's gun.
The hospital started to resume normal operations at about 6p.m.