A search continues Monday for a person of interest in the Kentucky freeway shooting on Saturday evening that left seven people injured, nine vehicles with bullet holes and caused a car accident that shut down the interstate for hours, authorities said.
The man wanted for questioning was identified as 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch, who the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said was “considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.”
The sheriff’s office released a photo of Couch, who allegedly fled the shooting on a highway in London, Kentucky, and is believed to still be in the area, Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said during a news conference Sunday morning.
This handout photo taken and released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped on Interstate 75 during an active shooter incident near London, Ky., on Sept. 7, 2024.
Mount Vernon Fire Department / AFP via Getty Images
“We’re not listing him as a suspect at this time, but he may be a suspect before the end of the day,” Acciardo said.
Acciardo described the shooting as “sniper-like,” and said it was not random or the result of road rage. He said investigators ​​​do not believe the shooter knew any of the victims or had contact with them before the shooting.
Acciardo said up to 60 members of law enforcement searched the area of ​​the shooting until 3 a.m. Sunday before calling off the search due to security concerns, saying the streets were too dark and describing the area they were searching as very difficult. .
The search for Couch resumed at 9 a.m. local time Sunday, Acciardo said.
The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local authorities in the investigation, officials said.
The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. local time on Interstate 75, near exit 49 about eight miles north of London, officials said.
Arriving deputies found nine vehicles shot in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-75, Laurel County Sheriff John Root said at a news conference last night.
Root said deputies found five people with serious gunshot wounds, including one shot in the face. He said one vehicle contained two people who were shot.
Acciardo said Sunday that none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and that all were in stable condition.
“A couple of our deputies, because of the severity of the injuries, loaded people up, injured people, and transported to the London Hospital,” said Root.
A still image from this video shows a rescue vehicle on the I-75 exit in London, Ky., Sept. 7, 2024.
WTQV
Two additional people were injured in a car accident that occurred during the shooting, authorities said.
Root said I-75 was immediately closed in both directions, saying that at the time, deputies did not know where the bullet had come from.
“We can’t risk someone getting shot,” Root said.
The sheriff declined to say whether Couch was a person of interest in the shooting but said it was “based on our investigation at the scene.”
He said initial reports that the shooting stemmed from a road rage incident were inaccurate.
Root said Couch has an address in Woodbine, Kentucky, and the sheriff’s office described him as about 5-foot-10-inches tall and 154 pounds.
Interstate 75 was closed for more than three hours after the shooting as law enforcement officers worked to secure the scene and collect evidence.
This handout photo taken and released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows a rescue vehicle on Interstate 75 during an active shooter incident near London, Ky., on Sept. 7, 2024.
Mount Vernon Fire Department
Root did not immediately tell investigators the type of weapon they believe was used in the crime.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement on X that he was monitoring the situation.
In an interview Sunday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Christina Dinoto said she was driving with a friend southbound on I-75, toward Tennessee, when the shooting erupted.
“Suddenly we heard this loud noise,” Dinoto said. “And my ear, my right ear, started ringing, and we didn’t know what it was, but we both looked at each other and said, is that a gun?”
Dinoto said that when he got off the interstate in Knoxville, he found damage to a vehicle that he suspected was caused by a bullet that may have grazed another car.
The Kentucky shooting comes less than a week after six people were injured in six shootings that occurred on September 2 on Interstate 5 in the state of Washington between 8:26 pm and 11:01 pm local time, officials said. A suspect whose vehicle was sought in connection with some of the shootings was arrested in the Tacoma area on September 3, police said.
ABC News’ Alex Presha contributed to this report.
