Washington, United States:
Kentucky State Police are searching rugged terrain near a national forest for a suspect after at least seven people were wounded in a shooting while driving through rural interstate traffic, authorities said Saturday evening.
The incident began about nine miles from downtown London just before 6pm (10am GMT), when officers were called to a vehicle traveling on Interstate 75 in Laurel County after reports of gunfire. Local media reports said the gunfire came from a wooded area or an overpass.
Mayor Randall Weddle of London, a small city of about 8,000 people near Daniel Boone National Forest about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Lexington, said in a Facebook post that seven people were wounded, including the gunman. The death toll is unknown, he said. Police have not released any further details about the number or circumstances of the casualties.
Weddle urged everyone in the area to “lock their doors while this man is on the loose.”
A highway near the scene of the Kentucky shooting was closed but later reopened, even though a suspect is still at large.
About three hours after the shooting, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office warned the public not to approach the 32-year-old man, describing him as a “suspect” who was “armed and dangerous.”
“The following individual, Joseph A. Couch, is a suspect in a shooting that occurred in the area of Exit 49/KY-909. Anyone with information regarding this individual’s location or whereabouts is asked to contact the London-Laurel County 911 Center at 911 or 606-878-7000. ***DO NOT APPROACH***. Joseph A. Couch is a 32-year-old white male, approximately 5’10” tall and weighs approximately 154 pounds,” police posted on Facebook.
Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called in to assist Kentucky State Police and local police, the agency said in a statement on X, calling it a “serious incident.”
London is a small city of about 8,000 people located about 90 miles south of Lexington near Daniel Boone National Forest.
The shooting came just days after two students and two teachers were killed and nine others injured at a high school in Winder, Georgia. A 14-year-old student and his father were charged with giving the gun used in the shooting to his son, which occurred just as the school year began.