Cab Driver Neutralizes Guy Shooting at Cops from Taxi Window

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 05-13-2026, 05:25 AM

Turkey. A 20-year veteran taxi driver, 58, has become a global sensation after courageously overpowering an armed gunman who had taken him hostage.

The dramatic incident unfolded inside a moving cab, sparking a high-speed police pursuit that stretched for nearly 50 miles across the province.

The ordeal began when 31-year-old Semih Çalışkan and his 36-year-old girlfriend, Gülbahar Y., hailed a taxi online from the outskirts of the city. Once inside, Çalışkan produced a pump-action shotgun, pointed it at the 58-year-old driver, Ramazan Yıldırım, and forced him to drive toward the city center.

Alerted by a tip-off, police units quickly intercepted the vehicle, initiating a perilous chase.

Dashcam footage from inside the taxi shows a chaotic scene as Yıldırım steered through traffic at speeds reaching 94 km/h, Çalışkan rolled down the rear window and repeatedly opened fire at pursuing police cruisers, checkpoints, and officers lying in ambush.

The multi-mile pursuit culminated when law enforcement vehicles successfully boxed the taxi in.

Facing a cornered, desperate suspect who was preparing to fire at point-blank range at approaching officers, Yıldırım made a split-second decision to intervene.

Turning completely around in his seat, the cab driver lunged into the back, grabbed the hot barrel of the shotgun, and wrestled it away from Çalışkan.

This intervention allowed heavily armed police officers to safely breach the taxi and arrest both suspects without further gunfire.

Yıldırım sustained a hand injury during the struggle that required seven stitches but has dismissed his wounds as trivial.

Speaking to local reporters after his release, the humble driver remarked, "Thank God no police officer was hurt. My hand doesn't matter; what matters is that everyone is safe."

Both suspects remain in police custody facing charges of kidnapping, vehicle hijacking, and attempted murder of law enforcement officers.