Current:Home > ScamsPeople take precautions they never thought would be needed as search continues for highway shooter-LoTradeCoin
People take precautions they never thought would be needed as search continues for highway shooter
View Date:2024-12-23 18:20:42
LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Jittery residents living near where a gunman opened fire on a Kentucky highway are taking precautions they never thought would be needed in their rural region, as searchers combed the woods Tuesday hoping to find the suspect.
Brandi Campbell said her family has gone to bed early and kept the lights off in the evenings since five people were wounded in the attack Saturday on Interstate 75 near London, a city of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington.
“We go home and lights go off, and we go upstairs and our doors stay locked,” she said.
Several area school districts remained closed on Tuesday while a few others shifted to remote learning as the search for Joseph Couch, 32, stretched into a fourth day.
Searchers have been combing through an expansive area of rugged and hilly terrain near where the shooting occurred north of London.
Less than 30 minutes before he shot 12 vehicles and wounded five people, Couch sent a text message vowing to “kill a lot of people,” authorities said in an arrest warrant.
“I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least,” Couch wrote in the text message, according to the warrant affidavit obtained by The Associated Press. In a separate text message, Couch wrote, “I’ll kill myself afterwards,” the affidavit says.
The affidavit prepared by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said that before authorities received the first report of the shooting at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, a dispatcher in Laurel County got a call from a woman who told them Couch had sent her the texts at 5:03 p.m.
In response to that call, police initiated a tracker on Couch’s cellphone, but the location wasn’t received until 6:53 p.m., the affidavit states, almost 90 minutes after the highway shooting.
On Sunday, law enforcement officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found, with a view of I-75. There, they found a green Army-style duffel bag, ammunition and numerous spent shell casings, the affidavit says. A short distance away, they found a Colt AR-15 rifle with a site mounted to the weapon and several additional magazines. The duffel bag had “Couch” hand-written in black marker.
Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington said troopers had been brought in from across the state to aid in the search. He described the extensive search area as “walking in a jungle,” with machetes needed to cut through thickets.
Authorities vowed to keep up their pursuit in the densely wooded area as locals worried about where the shooter might turn up next.
Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the shooting scene, said she hasn’t let her children go outside to play since the shooting.
“I’m just afraid to even go to the door if somebody knocks,” she said.
Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. An employee of a gun store in London, Center Target Firearms, informed authorities that Couch purchased an AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition hours before the shooting, the affidavit said.
Joe Arnold, the gun store’s manager, declined to comment Monday on details from the affidavit.
Authorities in Kentucky said Monday that Couch was in the Army Reserve and not the National Guard, as officials initially indicated. The U.S. Army said in a statement that Couch served from 2013 to 2019 as a combat engineer. He was a private when he left and had no deployments.
Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds in Saturday’s attack, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate, investigators said.
___
Schreiner reported from Louisville, Ky.
veryGood! (54445)
Related
- Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
- Hawaii pledges to protect Maui homeowners from predatory land grabs after wildfires: Not going to allow it
- More than 1.5 million dehumidifiers recalled after 23 fires, including brands GE and Kenmore
- North Carolina’s governor visits rural areas to promote Medicaid expansion delayed by budget wait
- Here's Your First Look at The White Lotus Season 3 With Blackpink’s Lisa and More Stars
- Instacart scam leads to $2,800 Kroger bill and no delivery
- This summer's crazy weather just can't stop, won't stop Americans from having fun
- US women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski resigns after early World Cup exit, AP source says
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- White Sox's Tim Anderson has suspension trimmed for fight with Guardians' José Ramírez
Ranking
- Ashton Jeanty stats: How many rushing yards did Boise State Heisman hopeful have vs Nevada
- Honda Accord performed best in crash tests involving 6 midsized cars, IIHS study shows
- Feds raise concerns about long call center wait times as millions dropped from Medicaid
- Foes of Biden’s Climate Plan Sought a ‘New Solyndra,’ but They Have yet to Dig Up Scandal
- Kelly Rowland and Nelly Reunite for Iconic Performance of Dilemma 2 Decades Later
- Jamie Lynn Spears Subtly Reacts to Sister Britney’s Breakup From Sam Asghari
- FOMC meeting minutes release indicates the Fed may not be done with rate hikes
- Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after Fed’s notes dent hopes of rate hikes ending
Recommendation
-
Suspect in deadly 2023 Atlanta shooting is deemed not competent to stand trial
-
'Barbie' blockbuster now Warner Bros. No. 1 domestic film of all time: Box office report
-
Aldi says it will buy 400 Winn-Dixie, Harveys groceries across the southern U.S.
-
CLIMATE GLIMPSE: Here’s what you need to see and know today
-
Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
-
Musician Camela Leierth-Segura, Who Co-Wrote Katy Perry Song, Missing for Nearly 2 Months: Authorities
-
3 suspected spies for Russia arrested in the U.K.
-
Alec Baldwin could again face charges in Rust shooting as new gun analysis says trigger had to be pulled