Maine prison inmate holding 2 people hostage

(CNN) - Negotiators tried Monday to defuse a hostage situation at a prison in Warren, Maine, after an inmate took two people hostage during the afternoon.

David Framer, spokesman for Maine Governor John E. Baldacci, told CNN that the inmate of Maine State Prison took the two hostage at around 2:30 p.m.

"This is a serious situation," Denise Lord, associate commissioner of the Department of Corrections, said in a written 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."