Inmate fatally shot after correctional officer taken hostage at county jail in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma correctional officials said an inmate was fatally shot after an officer was taken hostage Saturday afternoon.

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The officer was taken hostage by inmates on the 10th floor of the Oklahoma County Jail, KOCO reported. According to correctional officials, the officer has been released and is being treated at an area hospital, KWTW reported. The inmate was shot by an Oklahoma City Police Department officer after a two-hour standoff, the television station reported.

Update 5:05 p.m. EDT March 29: According to a news release from the Oklahoma City Police Department, the inmate was identified as Curtis Montrell Williams, 34. The officers who shot Williams were identified as Lt. Coy Gilbert, a 23-year veteran of the force; and Officer Kevin Kuhlman, who has been with the department for five years.

“As officers entered the pod, they encountered inmate Curtis Williams, who was holding a makeshift weapon to the throat of the detention officer,” Capt. Dan Stewart, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma City Police Department, said in the news release. “Seeing that the life of the detention officer was in imminent peril, Lt. Gilbert and Officer Kuhlman discharged their firearms, killing Mr. Williams. After Mr. Williams was shot, the officers were able to successfully recover the hostage.”

Both Gilbert and Kuhlman were placed on routine administrative leave, Stewart said.

Update 10:01 p.m. EDT March 27: According to Greg Williams, administrator for the Oklahoma County Jail Trust, the hostage situation began shortly after 4 p.m., CDT. KOCO reported. The correctional officer was overrun by at least one inmate during pill pass and taken hostage. The inmate took the officer’s radio and keys and released many of the other inmates on the 10th-floor pod.

Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said officers tried to de-escalate the hostage situation, but shots were fired after the inmate had the correctional officer in a “hostage position” and held something to his neck.

“Lethal force was taken, and the suspect was shot on scene,” Johnson told reporters. “We were able to get the detention officer out safely.”

The names of the officer and the inmate have not been released.

Original report: The extent of the corrections officer’s injuries was unknown, KOCO reported.

According to KWTW, the officer was delivering medication when he was attacked. Inmates streamed the hostage situation on Facebook Live. This video goes on to show the detention officer on his knees, the television station reported.

Earlier, Aaron Brilbeck, a spokesperson with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, told KOCO that tactical teams are either en route or already at the facility.

“We do know that at least one detention officer has been taken hostage,” Brilbeck told the television station. “Hopefully we can negotiate a peaceful end to this.”

Cox Media Group