Tomball Hospital Incident Declared Not Hostage-Taking: Officials

A sorrowful father of a seriously ill patient has barricaded himself inside the hospital ward. The situation cannot be classified as hostage-taking, the local sheriff's office says.

MOSCOW, January 11 (Sputnik) – The unfolding situation at a hospital in Tomball, in the US state of Texas, is not a hostage-taking, the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) said early Sunday in a Twitter post.

CLARIFICATION: Situation at Tomball Regional Med Center. 9:13 p.m.: Latest information is that this is NOT a hostage situation #hounews

— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) January 11, 2015

It was reported earlier that a distraught father of a patient had allegedly taken at least two people hostage inside Tomball Regional Medical Center northwest of Houston.

Police officials said they still had no information on whether the man was armed. He is "distraught about his son's medical condition and is currently with him inside the hospital room in the critical care unit," the HCSO said. The grieving father has apparently barricaded himself inside the hospital ward.

The press office added evacuation is underway, but it is limited to areas adjacent to the room, "not the entire hospital".

Texan police arrived at the scene at 8 p.m. local time (2:00 GMT), ABC News reported. A High Risk Operation Unit has been deployed at the scene and is in full control of the situation.