(GENEVA) A Kane County Jail inmate who was being treated at Delnor Hospital in west suburban Geneva took a hospital employee hostage with a correctional officer’s gun Saturday afternoon.
The incident started about 12:30 p.m., according to a statement from the city of Geneva. The inmate somehow gained control of a correctional officer’s gun and took a female staff member hostage inside a room in the hospital’s emergency room area, Kane County sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said.
The inmate was alone in the room with the hospital employee, and a SWAT team and crisis negotiators were on the scene, Gengler said. The situation was contained to a single room.
The rest of the emergency room area was evacuated, but other patients have remained in their rooms, Gengler said. The hospital was closed, and no one was being allowed to enter.
Hospital staff and paramedics have ambulances ready to transport anyone who comes to the hospital requiring emergency attention, according to the city’s statement.
