Police are searching the woods near Interstate 75 just north of London, Kentucky, after “numerous persons” were shot on the highway around 6 p.m. near exit 49, officials confirmed Saturday evening.
Joseph A. Couch, 32, a person of interest in the shooting, is considered armed and dangerous, police said.
“If you have any information regarding the whereabouts or location on this individual please contact the London-Laurel County 911 Center by calling 911 or 606-878-7000,” the London Police Department said.
The department warned that Couch shouldn’t be approached. He is described as a White man about 5 foot 10 inches, weighing around 154 pounds.
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London Mayor Randall Weddle in an update said he had been told that seven people were injured in the shooting, but not all of them were shot.
“Some of them was due to an accident,” he said, adding that no deaths have been reported.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said the highway was closed near the exit, which is nine miles north of London.
Police had originally responded to reports that a suspect was shooting at drivers from an overpass or a wooded area, multiple media accounts said.
London, around 80 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky, has a population of about 7,600.
Police officers will be escorting ambulances in and out of the area to take shooting victims to hospitals, FOX 56 reported, adding that a police helicopter is available.
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told people to avoid the area.
“Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County,” Beshear said. “Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available.”
The governor said he was receiving updates from the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. “[T]ogether we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved,” he wrote.
The highway was closed between exits 41 and 59, FOX 56 reported, citing the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Weddle added that all first responders at the scene are safe and that both Gov. Beshear’s office and the White House had reached out to offer support.
“Just keep our first responders in your prayers,” he said.
“That is some rugged terrain and a lot of treeline,” the mayor added of the search for the suspect.
He said that residents should be “vigilant” while police search for Couch. “I’m not asking anybody to panic, there is no immediate danger here in the city, but again…we are asking everybody to be safe.”
Of the response from agencies in surrounding communities, he said “this goes back to showing you what a great, great state that we live in, what a great community we live in and all the residents that’s asked ‘What can we do?’”
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