Armed inmate at Illinois hospital holding one person hostage

GENEVA, Ill. (AP) -- Authorities say a jail inmate being treated at a hospital outside Chicago is holding an employee hostage after taking a gun from a correctional officer.

Kane County Sheriff's Office spokesman Patrick Gengler says SWAT teams and crisis negotiators are on scene at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, about 40 miles west of Chicago.

Gengler says Saturday's standoff was contained to one section of the emergency room. Officials say the male inmate from Kane County Jail gained control of the officer's weapon around 12:30 p.m.

Gengler says the emergency room has been cleared. Patients elsewhere in the hospital haven't been evacuated, but authorities say no one else is being allowed on the hospital's campus.

Geneva spokesman Kevin Stahr says ambulances are on standby for anyone arriving at the hospital who need urgent care.