School classes cancelled as Kentucky highway shooter still on the run

Multiple Kentuck schools are staying closed as the search for a “person of interest” in a mass shooting over the weekend stretches into its third day.

Initially a “person of interest,” authorities have now named Joseph A Couch, 32, as a suspect in the shooting, which started around 5.30pm local time on Saturday near the interstate highway in Laurel County, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

Upon arriving at the scene, deputies found five people who had suffered wounds during the shooting near Exit 49, which also damaged 9 vehicles, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, told reporters Sunday.

He added that all five people who were shot are in stable condition, although a few were “very severely injured,” some to the extent that deputies transported them to an area hospital for treatment themselves.

The Independent has contacted Laurel County Sheriff’s Office for further details.

The perpetrator of the attack is believed to have shot into the northbound and southbound lanes of the interstate.

Couch was described by police as white, 5’10 and weighing approximately 154 pounds, and is considered to be armed and dangerous, with members of the public cautioned not to approach him.

“We’re going to go in and we’re going to find this guy,” Acciardo said.

The sheriff’s office has also revealed a “silver colored SUV,” which appears to be a Toyota, registered to Couch was recovered from a road off exit 49 on Saturday night, which officials discovering a rifle case inside.

On Sunday afternoon, an AR rifle was discovered near I-75 and “in the vicinity’ of where the car was found.

A list of schools closed, according to their Facebook pages and WKYT is below – with some also moving to virtual learning until further notice,

Barbourville Independent

Clay County

Corbin Independent

East Bernstadt Independent

EKU-Corbin

EKU-Manchester

Jackson County

Knox County

Laurel County

Lincoln County

Red Bird Christian School

Rockcastle County

Whitley County

Williamsburg Independent