Corrections Officers Held Hostage at Maximum-Security Prison in Delaware, Officials Say

Corrections officers are being held hostage at a Delaware prison, authorities said Wednesday.

A hostage situation was unfolding at a Delaware prison on Feb. 1, 2017. (Credit: WYW)

The James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware, went under lockdown earlier Wednesday as police responded to the hostage situation inside the facility, according to Jayme Gravell with the Delaware Department of Corrections.

Geoff Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, confirmed the hostages are corrections officers but would not say how many officers were being held hostage.

“It’s a very scary situation right now,” Klopp said.

The incident happened between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., Gravell said.

The Kent County Fire Department responded to the prison around 11:30 a.m. after an alarm was sounded, CNN-affiliate KYW reported.

The correctional facility is about 90 miles east of Washington. It houses about 2,500 minimum-, medium-, and maximum-security inmates, according to the state bureau of prisons.

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