Ohio State student and her kidnapper killed in Kentucky police chase
A female student from an Ohio State University campus and a man suspected of abducting her both died after a police chase and shooting, Kentucky State Police said Tuesday. The chase began Monday afternoon in northern Kentucky as police responded to a call about a person in distress, authorities said in a news release.
Officers intervened when the vehicle exited a highway and stopped on a ramp in Oldham County, northeast of Louisville. Police said a trooper heard gunfire from the vehicle and returned fire.
Both the woman and suspect were fatally shot. Authorities said the trooper killed the suspect, 24-year-old Ty'rell Pounds.
It is unclear who shot the woman, 20-year-old Skylar Williams. She was a student at Ohio State's Mansfield campus.
Williams and Pounds were both from Mansfield. The university's Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Williams was in a parking lot at the school shortly before noon Monday when she was approached by a male suspect known to her.
The release said the man displayed a handgun, forced Williams into his vehicle and fled with her. Pounds' roommate told Mansfield police that Pounds came home and tried to enter the bathroom while the roommate was taking a shower, CBS affiliate WBNS-TV reports.
According to a police report, the roommate said Pounds was with Williams and she was crying, the station reports. Pounds was holding a gun, and he was loud and seemed agitated, the roommate told police.
Pounds demanded that his roommate give up his keys and cellphone, the roommate said. Pounds and Williams then left the home.
In Kentucky, police said a witness called 911, saying the person saw a distressed woman at a gas station being forced into a vehicle by a man. The caller said it appeared the woman was asking for help.
"Our Ohio State community suffered a tragic loss with the death of Mansfield student Skylar Williams," Ohio State University President Michael V. Drake said in a statement. "This senseless and shocking incident has left our campus shaken."
The university said counseling was available to members of the university community on the Mansfield campus. The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating.