Gunman Holds Geneva Hospital Staff Hostage
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Kane County Jail inmate, who was at Delnor Hospital for treatment, took a correctional officer's gun and held the emergency room staff hostage Saturday afternoon.
The hourslong incident started around 12:30 p.m. Witnesses describe the scene inside as "chaotic," and said the offender, 21-year-old Tywon Salters, was running around the hospital naked.
At one point, Salters was seen taking a female employee hostage inside a room in the hospital's E.R. area.
While the hospital was placed on lockdown, Geneva city officials sent an alert asking the public to "stay out of the area" as police dealt with the standoff.
Hostage negotiators and SWAT teams were called in, according to Pat Gengler, Kane County Sheriff spokesperson. Negotiations with Salters happened by phone.
"Unfortunately, just a short while ago, the negotiations broke down," Gengler said after the situation was resolved. "The SWAT team made the decision to make entry into the room and one of the SWAT team operators did discharge his firearm, striking the inmate and killing him."
Gengler said Salters was pronounced dead at the hospital following the standoff.
A member of the SWAT team was shot in his vest. He was treated at Delnor and has since been released.
Gengler said the female employee, who is a nurse, was able to get out of the situation safely and remained at Delnor for medical evaluation Saturday. Gengler added that she was "obviously extremely upset" and was with family.
Salters had been at Delnor, 300 S. Randall Rd., since May 8, after being taken into custody on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle by the Elgin Police Department. Police said they could not go into further detail regarding what kind of medical treatment he was receiving.
The hospital lifted the lockdown early Saturday evening and resumed taking walk-in patients at 6 p.m., with ambulance drop-offs scheduled to resume by 8 p.m.
The Illinois State Police is conducting the investigation.
