Kentucky highway shooting: What we know about ‘armed and dangerous’ fugitive hunted by police
The alleged shooter is believed to still be in the area, officials say
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A manhunt for the suspect in a Kentucky shooting entered its third day on Monday as the search resumed shortly after dawn.
Joseph A Couch, 32, from Woodbine, is being hunted by multiple law enforcement agencies around exit 49 on the I-75, an area with “very unforgiving terrain” and thick with vegetation, northwest of London.
He is suspected of shooting at traffic on the interstate at around 5.30pm on Saturday, injuring five people and damaging nine vehicles.
While the alleged gunman fled the scene before deputies arrived, officials believe him to still be in the area, and have been searching for him since Saturday.
Several school districts cancelled classes on Monday due to the manhunt, with locals urged to keep their doors locked and remain vigilant.
Here’s what we know about the suspected gunman.
The latest on the manhunt
Although officials have not yet located Couch, they recovered a “silver colored SUV,” which appears to be a Toyota, from a road off exit 49 on Saturday night, and also discovered a rifle case inside the vehicle.
On Sunday afternoon, an AR rifle was found near the I-75 and “in the vicinity’ of where the car was found. It was confirmed to have been legally obtained by its owner.
Laurel County Sherrif John Root confirmed on Sunday that the primary weapon used by the shooter seems to have been an AR-15.
The Kentucky State Police (KSP) had taken the lead on the manhunt, as the sheriff’s office has “exhausted the personnel we had available to do it.” The Laurel County Sherrif’s Office will continue the criminal investigation.
Unable to give an exact scale of the search area, Root could only say, “there’s thousands of acres. It’s a big area - very secluded.”
“We are not gonna quit until we do lay hands on him,” he said to press.
The search in mountainous areas has continued during the day but called off in the evening for the safety of the teams. Officials set up a perimeter and posted a counter sniper team “all night long” on Saturday night.
Who is the gunman?
Initially a “person of interest,” Couch’s status was heightened to a suspect on Sunday, with officials cautioning members of the public not to approach him and to call 911 as he is considered “armed and dangerous.”
Couch - described as white, 5’10 and approximately 154lb - served in the National Guard for “at least four years” as a member of the Engineer Battalion, according to LCSO Captain Richard Dalrymple.
No motive behind the shooting has been determined, although officials have ruled out road rage as a reason.
How the highway shooting unfolded
Couch is believed to have begun shooting into both northbound and southbound traffic travelling on the interstate from a cliff ledge next to exit 49 at around 5.30pm, according to law enforcement.
Deputies arrived on the scene and found some of the five injured people to be so badly wounded that deputies rushed them to hospital for treatment.
All are in stable condition according to officials, although some were "very severely injured”.
The identities of those injured have not been disclosed.