Prison guards have reportedly been taken hostage by inmates.
#LIVE: Discretion advised. We are monitoring a very tense situation out of Delaware. Prison guards have reportedly been taken hostage by inmates.
We have the latest updates in this story: http://bit.ly/2krHToP
Posted by ABC15 Arizona on Wednesday, February 1, 2017
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware prisons have been put on lockdown following a reported hostage taking at the state’s maximum security facility.
Geoffrey Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said he had been told by the Department of Correction commissioner that prison guards had been taken hostage at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.
A DOC spokeswoman said only that an emergency situation was reported at the Smyrna prison late Wednesday morning. The facility was placed on lockdown, as were all prisons in the state per DOC policy. Spokeswoman Jayme Gravell provided few details but described the situation as an isolated incident, adding that there was no threat to the public.
Gravell said firefighters were called to the scene after reports of smoke and were being held on standby.
SMYRNA, Del. (WBOC/AP)- Delaware prisons were locked down Wednesday as authorities responded to a hostage situation the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, the state’s maximum security prison in Smyrna.
DOC Response Teams and Delaware State Police were on the scene responding to the situation, according to DOC spokesperson Jayme Gravell.
While Gravell would not provide any additional details, Geoff Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said he had been told by the DOC commissioner that “three to five correctional officers have been taken hostage and the inmates have control of the building.”