Around 6 p.m. on Saturday near exit 49 in Laurel County, a man fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles driving on Interstate 75, wounding 5 people.  Authorities said Joseph Couch purchased that weapon and about 2,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London, Kentucky. The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office offered $25,000 for information leading to Couch’s arrest. While searching for the suspect on Sunday around 2 pm, authorities recovered a vehicle and AR-15 rifle that was used in the shooting. He is charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault, according to state Commonwealth Attorney Jackie Steele, the felony prosecutor for Laurel County. 

Couch has military experience, having been in the U.S. Army Reserve, but was discharged. The U.S. Army said Couch was in the Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019 as a 12B combat engineer. Authorities said they do not think Couch, of rural Knox County, targeted specific people in the shootings. Shortly before opening fire, Joseph Couch sent a chilling text to his ex wife at 5:03 p.m pledging, ‘’I’m going to kill a lot of people.’’ Then, texted a follow up saying, ‘’I’ll kill myself afterwards.’’ 

Several schools have shut down until the suspect is found, including Laurel County Public Schools, East Bernstadt Independent, Whitley County Schools, and Williamsburg Independent. Kentucky State Police tracked Couch’s cell phone to a location within 2,500 meters of the cellular tower at the scene of the shooting at 6:53 p.m. on Saturday. They have been searching extensively in heavily wooded areas near the area of the shooting, They believe he is hiding somewhere in the Daniel Boone National Forest; the Forest stretches for over 708,000 acres, he could be anywhere. Couch may have planned this whole thing beforehand, and he has probably planted supplies in the woods to stay alive and hidden. This is a developing story on WKYT.