Several schools in Kentucky closed on Monday as authorities continue to search for a suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting. The shooting injured five people along a major highway on Saturday. Authorities have a suspect in the shooting, but they're still searching for them.
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Authorities have identified 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a suspect in the shooting. They believe the suspect is somewhere in a remote area in Southeast Kentucky. Out of an abundance of caution, school officials in some counties chose to keep their schools closed on Monday
The Laurel County Sheriff's Office identified Couch as a suspect after finding a Honda SUV at the scene. They also recovered an AR-15 rifle as well. Additionally, they found Couch's phone during the search. The suspect removed its battery.
Authorities say that Couch bought the rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in the hours before the shooting. During the shooting, 12 cars got hit by gunfire. The shooter fired from a cliff overlooking the highway. Five people got injured but are stable.
Kentucky Highway Shooting
Authorities warned local residents to stay vigilant.
"You need to lock your doors," Kentucky State Police spokesperson Scottie Pennington said Sunday. "If you have security cameras, make sure you're constantly watching them, maybe keep your porch lights on."
Likewise, schools in Laurel county and surrounding counties closed on Monday. The search has entered its third day. The area has a lot of foilage making the search difficult. Police have posted in a wooden area near exit 49 in hopes of catching the suspect.
"That's probably one of the most remote exits on I-75," Deputy Gilbert Acciardo of the Lauren County Sheriff's Office said. "It's a big task."
The officer also described the chaotic aftermath of the shooting. The officer described the attack as random but targeted.
"People on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out," he said. "Can you imagine that? Just chaotic."
"The plan right now is to continue doing what we're doing while we have some daylight there, to continue to beat the bushes and try to find this suspect," Accriado said. "We want to get him."
