Updated September 09, 2024 at 17:59 PM ET
Schools throughout several Kentucky counties were shut down on Monday as the search continued for the suspect responsible for shooting and injuring five people Sunday on Interstate 75.
The Kentucky State Police told reporters Monday that law enforcement officials are continuing to search through a wooded, rural area of southeastern Kentucky for 32-year-old Joseph Couch, who authorities say is the suspected shooter in the incident.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office and the FBI are now helping Kentucky law enforcement in the search for Couch.
During a Monday afternoon update, Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington told reporters authorities are hoping that Couch will eventually surrender and come out of the woods.
"We're going to keep goin'. It will probably expand. And that's just the job we signed up for," Pennington said.
What we know about the shooting
A sheriff's department spokesperson said on Sunday afternoon that law enforcement had recovered an AR-15 rifle they believe could have been used in the shooting and authorities have recovered a vehicle belonging to the suspect. The vehicle and rifle were found in a wooded area near the interstate.
Laurel County Sheriff's Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said the wooded terrain near Exit 49, the site of the shooting, is making it difficult to find Couch.
“That's probably one of the most remote exits along I-75, it's so wooded, there's one business, there's no residences, he couldn't have picked an area that is any more remote and difficult for us to try and locate him," Acciardo said.
Five victims were still listed in stable condition at an area hospital, he said on Sunday afternoon.
Laurel County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Interstate 75 at Exit 49, about 8 miles north of London, Ky., at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, where deputies found nine vehicles had been shot into and five people seriously injured, according to the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.
Some of the injuries were severe and deputies rushed some victims to a hospital, said Acciardo, a public affairs officer for the sheriff's office.
He said deputies arriving on the scene found windows shot out and bullet holes in vehicles on the side of the road.
Acciardo told reporters on Sunday morning that he did not expect there to be fatalities among the victims.
"We determined that an individual off that exit fired numerous rounds into the north and southbound lanes of I-75," he said.
The interstate was closed for several hours but has since reopened in north and southbound directions, the London Police Department said on Facebook.
The London Police Department released an image of a person of interest and identified him as Couch, a 32-year-old white male approximately 5’10" and 154 lbs. Couch is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, police said. Couch was later upgraded from "person of interest" to "suspect."
The sheriff's office said authorities contained the scene overnight and multiple law enforcement agencies resumed a ground search for Couch on Sunday morning.
The sheriff's office said a number of local and federal agencies were aiding in an investigation of the shooting, including the FBI, ATF, state police and other city police agencies.
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