Kentucky sheriff’s office searches for motive as hunt for I-75 shooter goes on
Sep 8, 2024, 4:32 PM
(Matt Downing via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — As authorities search the dense woods of rural Laurel County, Kentucky, for a suspect in the shooting of five people on Interstate 75, investigators say they have yet to establish a motive for the attack but have ruled out “road rage.”
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office has upgraded Joseph A. Couch from a person of interest to a suspect, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo announced at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Police found an AR-15 in a wooded area by the interstate Sunday afternoon that they believe was used in the shooting Saturday, Acciardo said.
“It is in a wooded area next to the interstate, in a location that he could have shot down upon the interstate from,” Acciardo said.
Authorities are working under the assumption Couch is still in the “very, very remote” area where his vehicle was found, Acciardo said at the afternoon news conference, but he urged the public to remain vigilant since the suspect “could be somewhere else – anywhere else.” Authorities describe him as a White man, roughly 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 154 pounds.
Law enforcement hasn’t yet determined a motive for the attack, Acciardo added. “He was not in a vehicle. No, definitely not road rage,” Acciardo told reporters at an earlier news conference.
The shooter did not appear to have targeted specific people, but the attack seemed to be “a planned event,” Acciardo said Sunday evening. Couch has a minimal criminal history, but “nothing of any significance” or like the Saturday shooting.
Authorities say Couch shot into nine cars on the interstate south of Lexington on Saturday – leaving five people seriously injured, closing the interstate for hours and putting the rural community on edge. Some of the victims were “critically hurt” but are in stable condition, said Acciardo.
The gunman shot into vehicles on the north and southbound lanes of I-75 and five people were struck by gunfire around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office said.
There were no fatalities, Acciardo said Sunday afternoon, but some of the injuries were “very severe”: One victim was shot in the face and another “across the chest.”
“We want to get this guy because he’s shot at cars, he’s shown that he’s capable, and that means he’s capable again,” he said of the suspect.
Manhunt continues through dense woods
As authorities continue combing the heavily wooded, hilly area, Acciardo said the suspect “couldn’t have picked an area that is any more remote and difficult for us to try to locate him.”
Law enforcement on Saturday discovered a vehicle registered to the suspect on a forest service road off Exit 49, with an empty gun case inside. The vehicle was “very near the interstate, but not close enough that the person of interest could have fired from that location,” Acciardo said.
Authorities suspect he walked closer to the interstate, which is where they recovered the weapon and believe he may still be in possession of other weapons.
“At this point, we do not believe he has outside assistance,” Acciardo said. He said the length of time the suspect is able to survive in the remote woods depends on his level of preparation – which is still unclear to authorities. He added it was possible Couch is no longer alive.
“Please remain vigilant and call 911 if you see the individual in question,” London Mayor Randall Weddle wrote on Facebook early Sunday morning.
“DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office warned.
The search coordinated by the sheriff’s office resumed Sunday morning with the help of multiple law enforcement agencies and a drone with infrared heat-sensing technology, police said.
Authorities knew the general area where the suspect was, the mayor said Sunday, and were searching in “rugged terrain and a lot of tree lines,” which may hamper their search efforts.
“It’s very tedious and stressful,” Acciardo said of the search. “We’re just going to keep on plugging, because that’s what we do.”
“We have to look behind every tree, because what if he’s there?” he said.
Authorities plan to shut down the search overnight, but will keep the area contained, Acciardo said Sunday evening. “We really have to suspend it at dark because of the danger element of our guys being in there and maybe walking right up on this individual.”
The interstate was shut down for hours Saturday “because of the danger to passing cars in the area of the shootings,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said. The FBI, US Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all assisting in the search, according to the sheriff’s office.
“If you think you hear something outside of your home, please do not go outside shooting,” Weddle said. “Our officers could be in that area or first responders. Call 911.”
The gun violence injected chaos into the Saturday commute just days after a mass shooting left four people dead and nine others hospitalized at a high school in Winder, Georgia — and less than a week after a half-dozen people driving on an interstate in the Seattle area were injured by a spree shooter.
The Laurel County Public School system announced it would cancel classes on Monday, citing “an abundance of caution.”
Speaking at the Sunday evening news conference, the mayor said he hoped “people understand that this travesty, this act of violence, doesn’t define us as a community.”
‘I’m a walking miracle,’ says shooting victim
What started as a family day out ended with a trip to the emergency room for one of the shooting’s victims, 28-year-old Rebecca Puryear.
Puryear, her husband and 4-year-old son had spent the day together in Lexington and were on the way back to their home in Harlan, Kentucky, when they heard gunshots as they approached Exit 49 on I-75.
“It sounded like a tire had blown, so I asked my husband, and he said it was gunshots,” Puryear told CNN on Sunday.
“The next thing I know, my ears are ringing. I look over and my (passenger-side) window is busted and there’s a bullet hole.”
Puryear continued driving for another mile and a half before pulling over in a safer area. She made sure her husband and son were safe before realizing she had been shot.
“I looked down and was just pouring blood,” Puryear said. “I had to try to keep it together because if I freaked out, they would’ve freaked out.”
They called 911, Puryear said, and Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Bobby Roberts responded as another ambulance was headed to assist other victims behind her at the scene.
“I started fainting and going in and out, and he told me to get in his cruiser so he could take me to the hospital.”
Puryear said a bullet entered through the passenger-side window and struck her right arm, penetrating her chest before exiting through her left arm. She was released from a hospital later Saturday night but will need surgery.
“We’re blessed that I’m still alive. I’m a walking miracle,” Puryear told CNN. “It still does not feel real to me, even though I’m sitting here with gaping wounds.”
Driver recounts harrowing ordeal
One woman who was driving on Interstate 75 with a friend from Rochester, New York, to Knoxville, Tennessee, described the harrowing experience of witnessing the shooting unfold.
When they reached London they heard a “loud noise,” Christina DiNoto said.
“We were just driving along, and all of a sudden, it was like a rock went through my back window, and it hurt my ear,” DiNoto said.
“And we looked at each other and we were like, ‘Was that a gunshot?’ And then we’re like, ‘No, that wasn’t a gunshot.’”
DiNoto said she noticed a truck driving next to her car slowed down and pulled off to the shoulder of the interstate, so she initially thought they had a tire blowout. She said they saw several police cars drive by at a high speed and “so many” tires on the side of the interstate.
It wasn’t until roughly an hour and a half later DiNoto and her friend learned about the shooting. When they arrived at a friend’s house, they noticed what appeared to be paint scrapes on the back of her car.
“My hands are still shaking,” said DiNoto, who added she feels incredibly lucky.