Inmate takes 2 hostage at Maine prison

[Informer]

WARREN, Maine - Two people were taken hostage Monday afternoon by an inmate with a knife at the Maine State Prison in Warren, state officials said.

Department of Corrections personnel and Maine state police responded and negotiators were on the scene. Officials said the incident was confined to inside the prison.

"This is a serious situation," Denise Lord, associate Corrections commissioner, said in a statement. "Our first priority is to protect the lives of the people involved. We will do everything in our power to make sure no one is hurt."

Emergency family contacts for the hostages were notified and the prison, in a town 58 miles northeast of Portland, was secured, officials said.

Gubernatorial spokesman David Farmer said a negotiating team had made "limited contact" with the prisoner.

Farmer did not identify the prisoner or the hostages. He also didn't say if the hostages were other inmates or prison staff.

Officials said Gov. John Baldacci had been briefed about the incident.

"I have spoken with Commissioner Marty Magnusson and have great confidence in the Department of Corrections and the state police," Baldacci said in a statement. "Everyone is working for a peaceful outcome to this incident."

Lord said Magnusson was at the prison.

According to the Corrections Department, the Maine State Prison has close, medium and special management custody levels with a population capacity of 916 and 410 staff.

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Does anyone know if the hostages were staff or inmates?