LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Authorities searched a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky on Sunday for a man suspected in the weekend shooting of nine vehicles and wounding of five people on a busy interstate.
Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named a suspect in Saturday’s shootings on Interstate 75 after authorities recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.
The search was focused on a remote area north of London, a community of about 8,000 people, roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington.
“Where is he? that’s the big question right now,” Acciardo told reporters as law enforcement raced to find Couch in the heavily wooded area before darkness fell. "We’re still in there. We still feel like that he’s in there or we obviously wouldn’t be searching wholeheartedly like we are.”
Couch — who earlier this year faced a later-dropped misdemeanor charge for terroristic threatening, according to court records — most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. Acciardo said law enforcement found his abandoned vehicle Saturday and then an AR-15 rifle on Sunday in a wooded area next to a highway “that he could have shot down upon the interstate from.” A phone believed to be Couch's was also found by law enforcement, but battery had been taken out.
Couch was initially considered a person of interest in the case until he was upgraded to a suspect on Sunday, Acciardo said, adding he was considered to be armed and dangerous.
Authorities believe there was only one shooter. Acciardo said the shooting appeared to involve some planning but seemed to be a “random act” of violence in which no particular person was targeted. He wouldn't speculate as to a possible motive.
Acciardo said authorities were notified at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday about gunshots along the route near exit 49. An individual who was “off that exit” fired multiple rounds into the northbound and southbound lanes, striking nine vehicles and wounding five people, he said. The shooter was not in a vehicle at the time.
“When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse: people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot,” Acciardo said during a news conference.
The wounded — one person from Kentucky and others from out of state — were hospitalized in stable condition early Sunday. Some had “very serious” injuries, including one person shot in the face, Acciardo said.
Residents of Laurel County were on edge as authorities searched with a drone, helicopter and on foot in a remote and sparsely populated wooded area near the highway.
Acciardo said authorities had been “bombarded” with a hundred or more calls from people claiming to have seen Couch. State lawmakers from Laurel County urged residents of the area to stay home during the search.
Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, was helping direct traffic as parishioners gathered for a service Sunday morning. He said he expected the search to hold down attendance. Several local churches canceled their services.
“There’s definitely people … that probably won’t be here today — just nervous with the suspect still at large,” he said.
Goodlett said the congregation was going to pray for the community, the wounded and the first responders, some of whom attend Faith Assembly, where around 275 parishioners worship weekly.
“This is tragic, obviously, that somebody would randomly do violent acts,” he said. “You hear media things taking place all around our country, but then when it hits home, it’s a little bit of a wake-up call.”
Cody Shepherd, sipping a bloody mary outdoors while waiting to watch a football game at the Pour Boyz Sports Lounge in London on Sunday, said rumors abounded as the search progressed.
Shepard, who lives in London, was at a party Saturday at a friend’s house about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of where the shooting occurred.
“We were listening to the police scanners all night,” he said, adding that they heard police sirens and saw a helicopter searching the area.
Authorities released a photo of Couch and warned residents to be on the lookout, but Acciardo cautioned that they “have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon.”
“We do have the area contained right now. ... Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there,” he said.
According to Kentucky state court records, Couch was charged this past February with misdemeanor terroristic threatening. However, the charge was dismissed when a victim failed to appear in court. Back in 2015, the same man was sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted of criminal mischief and unlawful transactions with a minor. Couch also has had a handful of traffic violations and a public intoxication conviction in 2020.
Acciardo said the search is dangerous for first responders and is painstaking because of thick foliage. There are “a lot of woods, a lot of cuts in the rock," he said. “He could be hiding behind a tree and us walk right up on him.” Heavy searching would be temporarily suspended if Couch wasn’t located before night fell, Acciardo said. The manhunt would resume in the morning.
“Whenever it gets dark, we can’t be in the woods,” he said. “It’s too dangerous for our guys.”
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Associated Press journalist John Hanna contributed from Topeka, Kansas.
