Official: Inmate was recovering from surgery before hospital standoff

An inmate who took two hospital employees hostage and was shot to death by a SWAT team officer during a standoff Saturday at Delnor Hospital in west suburban Geneva was being hospitalized for eating part of his sandal, authorities said.

Kane County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said 22-year-old Tywon M. Salters, of Chicago, had been receiving treatment at the hospital since May 8 after being taken into custody March 11 on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle by the Elgin Police Department.

Salters had ate part of his plastic, jail-issued sandal, which doctors surgically removed, according to a statement from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office. He was staying at the hospital to recover from the procedure.

Salters stole a handgun from the Kane County Jail correctional officer who was guarding him, prompting the three-hour standoff, the state’s attorney’s office said.

An employee on the hospital’s nursing staff was taken hostage during the standoff, the state’s attorney’s office said. He later released the nurse and took a second nurse hostage. He moved to the first floor of the hospital, with a SWAT team and crisis negotiators on the scene.

Police evacuated the rest of the emergency room area, but other patients remained in their rooms, Gengler said.

When negotiations with Salters deteriorated, SWAT members entered the hospital room, according to the state’s attorney’s office and a statement from Illinois State Police. During entry, a SWAT officer fired their weapon, striking Salters, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The hostage was removed and immediately received medical attention, the state’s attorney’s office said.

State police will investigate the use of force, according to the state’s attorney’s office. The sheriff’s office will conduct and internal review of policies, procedures and protocol relating to transporting jail detainees and keeping them under guard while outside the jail.

The Kane County Correctional officer and the SWAT officer were placed on paid administrative leave, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Salters was booked into the Kane County Jail on March 11 and ordered held on $75,000 bail, according to jail records.