KY- I-75 Active Shooter Targeting Vehicles

[Dre]

Press conference from one hour ago:

His car was found last night with rifle case inside, today, some distance away they found the AR and magazines close to the highway.
The search is going very slow due to the terrain, but they do believe he is still in the area.
He was indeed targeting random <mod note -member requested a word change to "strangers">, not a road rage incident.

 

[Cota332]

Laurel County Sheriff Gilbert Acciardo said Sunday that police found a vehicle belonging to 32-year-old Joseph Couch near the interstate on Saturday night, establishing Couch as a person of interest in the shootings. The car was parked atop a hill on a U.S. Forest Service Road past interstate Exit 41, near the shooting.

I found it interesting that he mentions exit 41 as opposed to exit 49 (49 being closest to where the incident occurred - the exit that services the gas station)

Exit 41 is nearly ten miles from the gas station, and is the last exit into London if headed Northbound.

 

[Lyanna]

Local Maps

Local Maps

londonlaurelchamber.com

For those who like a map visual

Moo

 

[arielilane]

My guess would be he lives in the area, because if he is from somewhere else wouldn't he had been located by now? Looking at a map I-75 is north and south (going south will take you all the way to FL, north to MI) but then he may have taken off dirt road or somewhere else. As I write this he could be any where. A needle in a haystack. If he is local is he parked in a garage, barn? I hope he is not holding someone hostage in their own home? That is only a comment, no fact. moo

 

[arielilane]

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) — The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) is resuming a search in cooperation with multiple law enforcement agencies for a person of interest after a shooting on I-75 on Saturday.

The LCSO said in a news release on Sunday that a “small silver colored SUV” registered to Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest connected to the search, was found off I-75 on Saturday night. A rifle case was also found in the same area.

...

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/mid-south/i-75-closed-amid-reports-of-an-active-shooter-in-laurel-county/

SEP 8, 2024

 

[arielilane]

More recent article:


LONDON, Ky. (WDKY/AP) — The SUV belonging to a man authorities believe is linked to a shooting on a Kentucky interstate on Saturday has been found.

Authorities were searching a rugged and hilly area north of London, a community of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles south of Lexington, on Sunday, looking for 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch. He has not been named a suspect.

...

https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/manhunt-continues-after-7-injured-in-shooting-accident-on-kentucky-interstate/

 

[Cota332]

Obviously, everything is still very much preliminary, but I believe it likely that the POI may have approached the area of the Gas Station/truck stop (Exit 49) via back roads to the west.

"Rockcastle River Forestry Road" - a dirt trail - directly approaches the gas station from the west, and is accessible coming from the London area via Interstate Exit 41.

From the presser, the Sheriff noted that they found the vehicle pretty early on, parked 'atop a hill on a forest service road.' He also noted that it was somewhat of a distance from where they had found the firearm, inferring that a trek would be required between those two points.

More interestingly, the Sheriff stated that finding the vehicle so early on, was the main source of evidence to pinpoint this guy as a POI.

With this in mind, I think it possible that this POI was hoping for a quick getaway, due to the likelihood of LE units approaching the scene mainly using I-75, as he could escape via service roads back into town or otherwise. MOO

 

[StarryStarryNight]

This is the weirdest case.
There were multiple versions of what happened coming out yesterday. Road rage, sniper, targeted, shot on highway, shot at truck stop. Usually that stuff is sorted out fairly quickly, but not here.
MSM doesn’t seemed particularly interested at all.
I’m interested. I think it’s terrifying. They need to find this guy.

 

[Simply Southern]

This is the weirdest case.
There were multiple versions of what happened coming out yesterday. Road rage, sniper, targeted, shot on highway, shot at truck stop. Usually that stuff is sorted out fairly quickly, but not here.
MSM doesn’t seemed particularly interested at all.
I’m interested. I think it’s terrifying. They need to find this guy.

The area is dense forest...trees, heavy brush, briar bushes, fallen logs, thick vines, a tangled mess. Add in snakes, bear, coyote, mountain lions and other critters, a very dangerous situation. Many areas to hide.
Moo

 

[Cota332]

Per this article :

"Joseph A. Crouch is now considered to be a suspect in a police investigation of the shooting near I-75 Saturday evening"

 

[nerosleuth]

WYMT-TV from Hazard, Kentucky has repeatedly interrupted their television programming with live news bulletins about the I-75 mass shooting since last night.

As of the latest update, police still believe that the shooting suspect is still in the woods.

The police did say that they are facing challenges due to the remoteness of the search area.

The police also said that the forest service road off of exit 49 has a distance of 9 to 11 miles.

Source:

Officials still searching woods, confirm extent of victim injuries

 

[Snoopster]

I found it interesting that he mentions exit 41 as opposed to exit 49 (49 being closest to where the incident occurred - the exit that services the gas station)

Exit 41 is nearly ten miles from the gas station, and is the last exit into London if headed Northbound.

I just listened to the press conference posted above and he says the vehicle was found on a forest road, on top of a hill off EXIT 49. (I listened to it a couple of times. He said 49, not 41, based on my hearing.)