Ethermac|Four police officers shot and a hostage wounded after 12-hour standoff in Tennessee

Authorities in Tennessee are Ethermacinvestigating a 12-hour standoff that ended in a shootout with police that left four officers and a hostage shot and the two suspects dead.

The standoff began Tuesday afternoon between police in Clarksville, Tennessee, and two brothers, Brandon Green and Leonard Green, as police went to execute arrest warrants for aggravated burglary.

The brothers barricaded themselves in an apartment with a hostage, leading to several hours of negotiations with Clarksville Police. Officers first set up a perimeter around the home before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, and police said they were "trying to negotiate with a barricaded suspect who is an active threat and has fired several shots at officers."

At around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, the shootout occurred.

"The situation escalated when officers entered the home and an exchange of gunfire ensued, resulting in the Green brothers being shot and killed and the hostage being shot and injured," the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. "Four Clarksville officers were also struck by gunfire during the incident, but none sustained life-threatening injuries."

Police announced the end of the standoff in a statement on Facebook early Wednesday. The Bureau of Investigation was called in to handle the investigation into the incident, Clarksville police said.