Abstract Mental illness is a complicated phenomenon. In some cases, mental illness may make the affected individuals dangerous to the people around them. The present paper is focused on the analysis and discussion of a scenario involving a mentally ill hostage-taker. A team of negotiators present at the scene will have to come up with a course of action by means of studying the personality and mental state of the offender, his motifs, likely responses, and potential actions. This will be done through the collection of information from mental health consultants, the offender’s relatives, fellow inmates, and the correction facility personnel. Based on this data, an effective approach to negotiation will be chosen. Introduction There exist a wide range of mental illnesses and conditions all of which have different signs, symptoms, and manifestations. Some of such illnesses show themselves in a more subtle way that an affected individual can be able to hide, and others are very disruptive to the affected person’s everyday life and can negatively impact people around. In the latter cases when bystanders become threatened by people suffering from mental health problems, it can be particularly difficult to intervene and find ways to reason with the aggressive and frustrated mentally ill persons. The present project is focused on the kind of a situation where an individual with a mental illness is being dangerous to a group of people around and a professional negotiation team is needed for the purpose of handling the threat. In this paper, first of all, the case scenario will be overviewed with an explanation of the offender’s mental state; further, two most likely mental illnesses that could be affecting him will be discussed. Next, a group of medical personnel that would be needed at the scene will be described with the rationale for the choices. Moreover, insights as to the degree of danger posed by the offender will be provided taking into account the condition that his requirements are not met. Also, it will be explained what people would need to be present at the scene for the interviews about the offender and the collection of detailed information about his person, background, past behaviors, and other related facts. Finally, the choice of approach to the negotiation with this particular offender will be articulated and justified. Scenario Overview The situation under discussion involves a mentally ill inmate of a maximum security facility in the Northeast who has taken hostage three facility staff members – two representatives of the maintenance personnel and one correction officer. The inmate was identified as Alfredo Albondigas, and he seems to be acting under the impression that there are aliens from another planet living in his cell block. His demand is for them to leave immediately; he wishes to see a flying saucer leaving the exercise yard in the next two hours. Otherwise, he is threatening to kill the maintenance personnel members who, he believes, are working for the aliens. Also, Mr. Albondigas is wearing a self-made aluminum foil hat. The overall scenario can be regarded as comedic; however, as a real-life situation, it is quite frightening given that the offender is mentally unstable and it is difficult to control or predict his actions. The purpose of the team