A Turkish hospital official says an armed police officer receiving psychiatric treatment at an Istanbul hospital barricaded himself into a room and attempted to commit suicide on Wednesday, February 1, causing panic, The Associated Press reports.

Earlier, Turkish media reports said the man had taken doctors and other staff hostage at Istanbul's Cerrahpasa hospital. But the hospital spokesman, shown on Dogan news agency video, says all staff have been evacuated from the psychiatry unit and police negotiators are trying to persuade the man not to kill himself.

The hospital official who spoke to reporters outside the hospital was not immediately identified.