Official: Hostage situation at Cook County jail ends peacefully

A hostage situation in a maximum security section of the Cook County Jail on Thursday ended with minor injuries, sheriff's officials said.

Two inmates took control of a tier in division 10, a medical section within the facility on California Avenue, about 4:30 p.m., said Cara Smith of the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

"They obscured the cameras, broke them and pulled them off the wall," she said. "They took one detainee hostage with what appeared to be some sort of shank."

Hostage negotiators and an emergency response team mediated the situation, which concluded around 7:40 p.m.

The hostage was stabbed in the leg and taken to a hospital with very minor injuries, Smith said.

"Our staff did a phenomenal job of mediating this peacefully," Smith said. "We'll be investigating all of the circumstances in the coming days."