Authorities say an inmate who took nurses hostage at a suburban Chicago hospital was being treated for eating plastic off a jail uniform sandal. Police fatally shot Tywon M. Salters Saturday during the standoff at Delnor Hospital in Geneva. Kane County Coroner Rob Russell says the preliminary cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head.
Salters had been a Kane County Jail inmate since April 11. He was hospitalized May 8. Doctors surgically removed the plastic from his stomach.
Authorities say Salters managed to take a correctional officer's gun and took a nurse hostage, then released that nurse and took a different nurse hostage. Negotiators tried to reason with Salters by phone, but were unsuccessful. Authorities are investigating how Salters got hold of the gun.
