Cops open fire on hostage-taking kidnappers after 4-hour standoff in victim’s semi-truck: video

A multi-county police chase turned into a 4-hour hostage standoff in the middle of an Ohio highway before cops opened fire on the two suspects, who later died Wednesday morning.

Harrowing footage showed several Ohio Highway Patrol Troopers in tactical gear approach the hijacked semi-truck in an attempt to free the driver, who was believed to have been held hostage inside by a 54-year-old man and his 51-year-old wife.

One of the suspects began shooting out of the truck, and was quickly met with return fire that seemingly struck both suspects.

One trooper can be seen unloading over 20 rounds from his pistol as the group backs away from site of the shooter inside, according to the video obtained by WBNS 10TV.

When the shooting ended, the original driver of the truck escaped the vehicle with his hands up and was brought to safety by two troopers.

The two suspects, who said their names were Ronald and Barbara Taylor of Somerset, Ky., were transported to the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where both died of their injuries.

The chaotic morning began just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday, when a London (Ohio) police officer stopped a minivan with no rear lights or a visible registration.

In body cam footage provided by the London police, the officer tried to get the identities of the couple but both said they didn’t have ID on them, adding that the woman had just left the emergency room after stabbing herself in the eye with scissors.

The male driver then explained to the officer they don’t have any form of ID because it was all in the woman’s purse that was stolen.

Eventually, they identified themselves as Ronald and Barbara Taylor before the male driver took off, leading officers on a 4-minute chase down to a truck stop, where they fled the minivan and a foot chase ensued around the parking lot.

As the initial officer caught up to the couple, he threatened to taser them, but the male suspect pointed a handgun back forcing the cop to dive behind a parked car and allowing the couple to flee to a nearby white Werner semi-tractor that had one male occupant inside.

The couple took over 20 minutes to put the truck in drive, which gave the police time to set up a barricade of patrol cars and spike strips to stop the couple from getting out of the parking lot.

However, the plan backfired as the truck drove straight into one of the police cars.

The chase lasted for two hours, going through several counties including Clark, Greene, Madison, and Montgomery.

It was in Montgomery when the truck rolled to a stop on the Dayton International Airport Access Road, according to WHIO TV.

Between 3:20 and 7:30 a.m. officers from multiple agencies tried negotiating with the couple to release their hostage, while the access road was shut down.

“There were negotiations that were occurring from around 3:20 a.m., when the vehicle came to a stop, till about 7:30 this morning when troopers from the Special Response Team decided to attempt to make entry.” Ohio State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Natan Dennis said.

“Troopers from the special response team approached the truck to remove the victim from the truck, as they were making entry the suspects fired shots at troopers,” Dennis added. “Troopers returned fire on the suspects.”

Numerous bullet holes were seen on the truck’s windshield after the incident.