Sandy MaloneOldham County, KY – An Ohio State University (OSU) student who was kidnapped from a Mansfield campus parking lot on Monday was fatally shot on Wednesday, along with her abductor.
The incident began when a student called 911 on Tuesday from Parking Lot 2 of the OSU – Mansfield campus and said someone had seen a woman forced into a car at gunpoint the day before, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
Kentucky State Police said that at 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 10, 20-year-old Skylar Williams had been forced into a car at gunpoint by her former boyfriend, 24-year-old Ty’rell Pounds, according to WDRB.
Pounds then ditched his car and stole a minivan, according to the OSU Department of Public Safety, WEWS reported.
Kentucky State Police said their troopers were contacted by dispatchers in Gallatin County, Kentucky after they received a 911 call from someone who had witnessed a woman being forced into a Dodge Caravan at a gas station, WDRB reported.
The 911 caller told police that she thought the woman was asking for help.
State troopers spotted the suspect vehicle on Interstate 71 soon after, travelling south in Henry County, according to WDRB.
Police tried to pull the vehicle over but Pounds refused to stop.
They pursued him into Oldham County and tried to disable Pounds’ vehicle with stop sticks, but the maneuver failed, WDRB reported.
That’s when troopers were joined in the chase by Oldham County police officers and sheriff’s deputies.
They blocked the highway at Exit 14 and forced Pounds onto the exit ramp, and then to a stop.
As Pounds’ minivan was being stopped, police heard a gunshot inside the vehicle.
A state trooper, fearing for his life and the life of the kidnap victim, opened fire on Pounds, killing him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to WCMH.
Williams was also fatally shot, but it’s not known at this time whether Pounds shot her before police fired, WDRB reported.
She was transported to University of Louisville Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
There is no video footage of the shooting because state troopers do not wear bodycams, according to the Kentucky State Police.
Police said Williams and Pounds were the parents of a small child, WDRB reported.
Mansfield Police Department records indicate that their relationship was a rocky one, and said that Williams had called police when Pounds followed her to a gas station in January, the Courier Journal reported.
Police said Williams told them she had a protection order against Pounds.
Court records in Richland County, Ohio showed the pair were already battling it out in a paternity case, the Courier Journal reported.
The OSU – Mansfield campus, where Pounds abducted Williams, is located about 290 miles from where police ultimate stopped their vehicle.