Police in the U.S. state of Kentucky will resume their search Sunday morning for a gunman who opened fire on a stretch of rural interstate highway, shooting nine vehicles and leaving five people seriously injured by gunfire.
Two other people were hurt in a vehicle crash, authorities said.
Laurel County Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said that gunshots were reported on Interstate 75 at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. When police arrived at the scene, about 14 kilometers from the city of London, Kentucky, they found vehicles parked along the side of the highway.
“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. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic," Acciardo said during a news conference Sunday.
The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“No one was killed from this, thankfully, but we ask that you continue to pray,” London Mayor Randall Weddle said in a Facebook video Saturday night.
The five people who were shot were in stable condition early Sunday, although some had “very serious” injuries, including one who was shot in the face, Acciardo said.
The stretch of highway was closed for several hours because of the danger to passing cars in the area, the sheriff’s department stated in a news release.
Authorities believe the shooter acted alone, and they do not think road rage was a motive.
“A lead was developed on a person of interest and the search for this person of interest is continuing,” the statement said.
Investigators began looking for Joseph A. Couch, 32, of Woodbine, Kentucky.
“This individual is considered to be armed and dangerous and should not be approached. 911 should be called,” the sheriff’s office statement said. “The scene is being contained overnight and an active search and the continuing investigation will occur at daybreak on Sunday morning.”
London, with a population of about 8,000, is located 120 kilometers south of Lexington.
The shooting took place two days after four people were killed in a shooting at a Winder, Georgia, high school. A 14-year-old student and his father have been charged in that case.
In addition to area police departments and sheriff’s deputies, the investigation is being assisted by the FBI, U.S. Marshal's Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, authorities said.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
