Search crews scour Kentucky hill country for suspect after highway shooting left five injured | News, Sports, Jobs

London, Kentucky Mayor Randall Weddle speaks to the media about the shooting that occurred near his town on I-75 in London, Kentucky, on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

By BRUCE SCHREINER and LEAH WILLINGHAM, Associated Press

LONDON, Kentucky (AP) — Authorities searched a rugged, hilly area of ​​southeastern Kentucky on Sunday for a man suspected of shooting at nine vehicles and wounding five people on a busy highway over the weekend.

Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named a suspect in Saturday’s shooting on Interstate 75 after authorities found his SUV on an access road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon nearby that was believed to have been used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesman for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

The search focused on a remote area north of London, a community of about 8,000 residents about 120 kilometers south of Lexington.

“Where is he? That’s the big question right now,” Acciardo told reporters as police searched a heavily wooded area before sunset. “We’re still in there. We still have a feeling he’s in there, otherwise we obviously wouldn’t be searching as intensively as we are.”

During an early evening press conference, Acciardo said the search would resume early Monday morning if searchers failed to find Crouch before nightfall.

“We’ve had no luck so far, no lead, no information or evidence at the scene to indicate he’s there. But we believe he’s there,” Acciardo said.

Couch — who was charged with “terrorist threats” earlier this year and later dropped, according to court records — was last living in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles south of the crime scene. Acciardo said authorities found his abandoned vehicle on Saturday and an AR-15 rifle on Sunday in a wooded area near a highway from which he “could have fired shots down the interstate.” Police also found a phone believed to belong to Couch, but the battery had been removed.

Couch was initially considered a person of interest in the case until he was upgraded to a suspect on Sunday, Acciardo said.

Authorities believe there was only one shooter. Acciardo said the shooting appeared to be planned, but it was likely a “random act of violence” in which no one in particular was targeted. He declined to speculate on a possible motive.

Authorities were notified of gunfire near Exit 49 on the Interstate around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. A man who “was not at that exit” fired several shots into the northbound and southbound lanes, hitting nine vehicles and injuring five people, Acciardo said. The shooter was not in a vehicle at the time.

“When our first two units arrived on the scene, they said it was a madhouse: people on the side of the road, hazard lights on, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot at,” Acciardo said.

The injured – one person from Kentucky and others from other states – were hospitalized in stable condition early Sunday. Some had “very serious” injuries, including one person who was shot in the face, Acciardo said.

Laurel County residents were on edge as authorities searched with a drone, helicopter and on foot in a remote and sparsely populated wooded area near the highway.

Cody Shepherd, who was sipping a Bloody Mary while waiting to watch a soccer game outdoors at the Pour Boyz Sports Lounge in London on Sunday, said locals have been doing a lot of speculation. Shepherd, who lives in London, was at a party at a friend’s house on Saturday, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of where the shooting occurred.

“We listened to police radios all night,” he said, adding that they heard sirens and saw a helicopter overhead.

On Sunday, several local churches canceled their services. But Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, helped direct traffic as congregants gathered for morning worship, anticipating that the search would reduce attendance.

“It’s obviously tragic that someone would randomly commit acts of violence,” he said. “You hear in the media what’s happening all over our country, but when you remember it at home, it’s a bit of a wake-up call.”

Authorities released a photo of Couch and warned residents that he was likely armed and dangerous.

According to Kentucky state court records, Couch was charged in February with the misdemeanor of “terrorist threats.” However, the charges were dropped when a victim failed to appear in court. In 2015, Couch was sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of criminal damage to property and unlawful dealings with a minor. Couch has also committed several traffic violations and was convicted of public intoxication in 2020.

Acciardo said the search was dangerous for rescue workers and difficult because of the dense foliage. There were “a lot of woods, a lot of cuts in the rock,” he said. “He could hide behind a tree and we could come right at him.”

“When it gets dark, we can’t go into the forest,” he said. “It’s too dangerous for our boys.”

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Associated Press writer John Hanna contributed from Topeka, Kansas.