The Associated Press
PANAMA CITY, Florida (AP) -- A SWAT team stormed the Bay County Jail on Monday to end an 11-hour hostage standoff, injuring a hostage and at least two inmates, authorities said. Three other employees were freed.
An inmate reportedly said he was upset about health hazards at the jail.
The injured hostage was a nurse who was accidentally shot twice by the SWAT team, said Bay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ruth Sasser. The woman was in stable condition after surgery.
Sasser said two other inmates who were part of the hostage-taking also were shot. They were treated and returned to the jail. Another inmate was taken to the hospital for a drug overdose; his connection to the incident was not immediately determined.
The standoff began Sunday night, when the SWAT team and armed corrections officers surrounded the jail. The officers freed the hostages Monday morning from the third floor where inmates had barricaded themselves, Sasser said.
Sheriff Frank McKeithen had gone to the site Sunday night to negotiate an end to the standoff. The inmates asked for cigarettes and pizzas.
Jennifer Elmore, an anchor at WJHG-TV, said she received a call Sunday night from a man who said he was holding hostages at the jail. He then put a woman on the phone who stated: ``We are nurses at the Bay County Jail and we are being held hostage.’' The caller said he was upset about health hazards at the jail, Elmore said.
A private company, Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville, Tennessee, operates the jail under contract with Bay County. All corrections officers and nurses are CCA employees.
Officials identified four inmates as involved in the standoff; all were either awaiting sentencing or serving time for charges including armed robbery and burglary. Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Lisa Lagergren said more inmates could be identified once interviews are completed.