Joseph Couch Kentucky shooter still at large, 3 days after firing off gunfire, and injuring 5 motorists along I-75 highway near London. Suspect gunman had bought more than 1000 rounds for his AR-15 rifle earlier that morning.
The search for a man suspected of launching a mass shooting on a Kentucky highway over the weekend, continued Monday following authorities charged the wanted man with attempted murder and assault in an arrest warrant.
The search for Joseph A. Couch, 32, who Kentucky authorities described as ‘armed and dangerous,’ continued Monday in connection with the shooting on Interstate 75, near exit 49, eight miles north of the small city of London, on Saturday evening. Five people were shot and left seriously injured.
The warrant charges Couch with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault.
YouTubers find decomposing body of I-75 KY shooter in nearby woods
Once he’s taken into custody, ‘the court processes will begin quickly with the District Court,’ Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit, Jackie Steele, said in a statement to NBC News. He could face other, less serious charges, in connection with the other drivers impacted in the shooting such as property damage and wanton endangerment.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office has said that the gunman in the shooting opened fire from three different perches along a ridge that looks down on the interstate just on 5.30pm, Saturday afternoon. An AR-15, believed to have been used in the shooting, was found near Couch’s vehicle that was found near the scene Saturday night. Deputies were searching for Couch in the remote woods near the scene of the shooting Sunday.
In the mass shooting, at least 12 vehicles were struck, though some didn’t realize their cars were hit until they arrived at their destinations hours away. As many as 20 to 30 rounds may have been fired, Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Dalrymple said.
All the shot victims are stable and expected to survive, officials said Sunday.
Officials said Sunday that the suspect had purchased the AR-15 and about 1,000 rounds legally at a local gun store Saturday morning. Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Sunday that the suspect went through all the proper paperwork, and had nothing on record that would have prevented the sale.
A gun case and several charged magazines were also found in the suspect’s SUV according to a Facebook release from the Laurel Sheriff’s Office.
An investigation into the shooting, and potential motive, remained ongoing.
‘We have solid evidence. His vehicle was at the scene. A firearm that he purchased yesterday was at the scene,’ said Michael E. Stansbury, special agent in charge of the Louisville FBI office told the Louisville Courier-Journal. ‘We have interviewed people; we feel pretty confident this is the individual.’
Couch had served in the National Guard Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019, as a combat engineer, a spokesperson for the Army Reserve confirmed.
‘He was a private at the end of service,’ the spokesperson said, noting he had no deployments.
He is not a felon and has a relatively clean record that includes the March dismissal of a charge of making a terrorist threat and at least one alleged traffic violation, Steele, the prosecutor for the region, said. He’s believed to have acted alone in the shooting.
Laurel County Public Schools said school is canceled Monday ‘out of an abundance of caution.’
The London Police Department asked the public to share any information regarding the whereabouts or location of Joseph A. Couch, a 32-year-old white male from Woodbine, Kentucky, who is roughly 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighs around 154 pounds. The man is considered ‘armed and dangerous’ and members of the public should not attempt to approach him.
