Kids in Central Kentucky urged to stay indoors as fugitive in I-75 shooting case remains at large for the third consecutive day
Joseph Couch, 32, has been elusive since Saturday afternoon, when authorities claim he discharged an AR-15 from a precipice on an interstate bypass road about nine miles north of London, Kentucky. This event reportedly resulted in 12 vehicles being struck and five individuals sustaining injuries.
Despite the lack of clarity on his motives, the incident appears to be an instance of indiscriminate violence, as mentioned by Laurel County Sheriff's Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, according to Associated Press reports.
Search operations, spearheaded by the Kentucky State Police, paused through the night and will resume by 8 a.m. on Monday, as stated by Root.
Couch may still be armed and concealed in the expansive, densely wooded area nearby, where his AR-15, ammunition, car, and potentially his phone were found. Laurel County Sheriff John Root disclosed this information on Sunday night. Just prior to the shooting, Couch had legally procured a firearm and approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as per the sheriff's office.
It is also plausible that Couch has taken his own life within the wilderness, as suggested by Laurel County Sheriff’s Office Captain Richard Dalrymple on Sunday.
In response to the search efforts, law enforcement helicopters, drones, K-9 teams, and ground personnel are scouring a mountainous area that encompasses thousands of acres and is crisscrossed with ATV trails. In certain areas, they are employing machetes to cut through thick greenery, according to Scottie Pennington.
Until Couch is located, the community is being urged to stay cautious for any potential sightings of him and fortify their homes as necessary.
“Make sure you lock your doors. If you have surveillance cameras, keep a close eye on them and maybe keep your porch lights on,” Pennington advised residents. “Keep your cell phone charged, as you may need it to contact someone or the authorities at any given moment.”
Consequently, more than a dozen regional school districts and several private educational institutions have decided to dismiss classes on Monday, including those in Laurel, Jackson, and Clay counties.
London Mayor Randall Weddle reported that his office is collaborating with local school superintendents and shared that their primary concern is safeguarding children.
None of Saturday’s shooting victims were killed, but some incurred “serious” injuries, including a person hit in the face and another suffering a chest wound. Others were reported in critical condition but were stabilized on Sunday, as per Acciardo.
Couch, a veteran of the National Guard, maintains a “minimal” criminal record in the state, according to Jackie Steele, the commonwealth attorney for Laurel and Knox Counties. He was previously charged with terroristic threatening, however the charge was dropped earlier this year, Steele revealed. No further details about the case were disclosed.
Investigators searched Couch's residence on Sunday evening, in the hopes of gleaning insight from the electronic devices discovered on the premises.
At a press conference on Sunday night, Root implored Couch to surrender.
“We won’t cease our pursuit until we have him in our grasp,” Root said, adding, “Our efforts will continue unabated.”
Search crews encounter a challenging wilderness
Search teams encounter a formidable challenge as they traverse the vast, secluded wilderness – a task that state police spokesperson Scottie Pennington described as equivalent to navigating a jungle.
“You can’t move at a fast pace because you don’t want to miss anything. There’s a chance he might be there, so you need to move slowly,” Pennington explained.
Approximately 150 federal, state, and local personnel are involved in the pursuit of Couch, as per Root's estimate, though only around 40 to 50 of them are dealing with the search on the ground.
Although Couch did not seem to be specifically targeting individuals, the incident appeared to be an intentionally planned event, as stated by Acciardo on Sunday.
“At the moment, we do not believe he has any assistance from outside sources,” Acciardo said, although he later acknowledged that it is “very likely” the suspect might be utilizing some form of telecommunications.
The duration of time Couch is capable of surviving in the wilderness is uncertain, as his level of preparedness remains undisclosed to authorities.
Following the shooting on Saturday, investigators located a vehicle registered to Couch along a forest service road off Exit 49, with an empty gun case inside. The vehicle was situated near the interstate, but not close enough for the suspect to have fired from that location, as per Acciardo.
The suspect is believed to have approached a cliff by the interstate and fired from a ledge approximately 30 feet down, according to Dalrymple. Authorities eventually recovered the AR-15 near the site, along with a phone devoid of its battery.
‘I was just bleeding profusely,’ victim recalls
A family excursion that promised a fun day out instead culminated in an emergency room visit for one of the shooting survivors, 28-year-old Rebecca Puryear.
Puryear, her husband, and their 4-year-old son had spent the day in Lexington and were traveling back to their residence 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 shattered and there’s a bullet hole.”
Puryear continued driving for another mile and a half before finding a safer location to pull over. She prioritized ensuring her husband and son’s safety before realizing she had been struck by a bullet.
"I checked down and saw I was spilling blood," Puryear mentioned. "I needed to stay calm since if I lost it, they'd follow suit."
They dialed 911, and Deputy Bobby Roberts from the Laurel County Sheriff's Department responded, with another ambulance on its way to attend to other casualties beyond her.
"I started fainting and had moments of consciousness, and he encouraged me to hop into his cruiser for a hospital ride," Puryear explained.
She shared that a bullet pierced through the passenger side window, hitting her right arm and traveling through her chest before exiting through the left arm. She was released from the hospital late in the evening on Saturday, but surgery awaits.
"We're fortunate that I'm still alive. I'm essentially a living miracle," Puryear shared with CNN. "This whole situation still doesn't feel real to me, even as I sit here with gaping wounds."
Paradise Afshar, Raja Razek, Lauren Mascarenhas, Chris Boyette, Jillian Sykes, and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.
The Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement agencies are urging the community to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions until Joseph Couch is found, advising residents to lock their doors, keep a close eye on surveillance cameras, and keep their cell phones charged.
Despite the challenging wilderness terrain, search teams are continuing their efforts to locate Couch, utilizing law enforcement helicopters, drones, K-9 teams, and ground personnel to scour thousands of acres of mountainous terrain and ATV trails.
