Delaware Union Lawyer Says Inmates Have 5 Hostages

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The Latest on guards taken hostage by inmates at Delaware prison:

4 p.m.

An attorney for the union representing guards at a Delaware prison says at least four guards and one counselor have been taken hostage by inmates.

Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the inmates had taken control of one building at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center and injuries to both officers and inmates have been reported. He said the building under inmate control houses between 120-150 people.

Rogers says there's been very little communication between the inmates and people outside the building. He says no demands have been communicated to the union.

The state Department of Corrections has released few details about the situation at the prison in Smyrna. All prisons statewide are on lockdown, per DOC policy. Rogers said he'd been briefed on the situation by the union president, who was talking to officials at the scene.

The prison is Delaware's largest correctional facility for men, housing about 2,500 inmates.

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2:45 p.m.

The union representing guards at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, where guards have been taken hostage at the maximum security facility, reported that a corrections officer was assaulted there last week.

The Correctional Officers Association of Delaware said in an email on Saturday that guards were removing dinner trays when an inmate threatened an officer and squirted an unknown liquid on the officer's upper torso and arm.

The email says about two dozen inmates had been moved to a higher security area earlier that day and refused to eat dinner.

Geoffrey Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said Wednesday he had been told by the Department of Correction commissioner that prison guards had been taken hostage.

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2:30 p.m.

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.