Multiple people were shot along a Kentucky interstate Saturday evening, with a manhunt underway for the shooter.
Law enforcement shut down a portion of I-75 in response to an “active shooter situation,” according to the local sheriff’s office and multiple news reports.
“Numerous persons have been shot near I-75,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s office first reported in a Facebook post at 6:36 p.m.
A section of the highway at exit 49, nine miles north of the city of London, was taped off in response, with the shooter still at large, officials wrote on social media.
Laurel County Sheriff’s Office
Laurel County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Joseph A. Couch, a 32 year old white male approximately 5’10 weighing approximately 154lbs.
“We are urging people to stay inside,” State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington said in a Facebook post.
Little over two hours after they first reported the shooting, the Sheriff’s Office posted a headshot of the suspected gunman on social media.
“Consider armed and dangerous,” officials wrote, naming 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear addressed the ongoing crisis in a post on X, noting that he, the Kentucky State Police and the state Office of Homeland Security were working in tandem to get a handle on the situation.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible,” he wrote, adding, “Please pray for everyone involved.”
The shooting comes three days after a massacre at a school in Georgia that left 4 dead and multiple injured.
The 14-year-old identified by authorities as the teen who had gunned down two teachers and two classmates at Apalachee High School was quickly taken into custody Wednesday. Officials slapped Colt Gray and his father with numerous charges the next day, for what is the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history on record.
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