Police launch manhunt after multiple people shot in US
A manhunt is currently underway in Kentucky following a shooting incident along a highway near London on Saturday.
The situation began around 6:00 PM local time (10:00 PM GMT) when police were called to reports of vehicles being fired upon near Interstate 75.
According to London Mayor Randall Weddle, seven people sustained injuries, although not all were from gunshots, and fortunately, no fatalities have been reported.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office has identified 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest, and authorities have warned that he is considered armed and dangerous. Local media suggests that the shots may have originated from either a wooded area near the highway or from an overpass.
“The suspect or suspects remain at large, and efforts are ongoing to locate them,” Mayor Weddle mentioned in a video posted on Facebook around 9:30 PM local time. “The search area includes rugged terrain and numerous tree lines.”
Christina DiNoto, who was driving on Interstate 75 with a friend at the time, recounted the incident to CNN, saying, “It felt like a rock had hit my back window, causing pain in my ear.” She and her friend initially questioned whether they had heard gunfire.
She said it was only an hour and a half later they learned that it had been a shooting.
Later on Friday, Mount Vernon Fire Department said a section of the highway close to where the shooting happened had reopened, after being closed for about three hours.
A spokesperson for the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington told the BBC’s US news partner, CBS News that it had received at least two patients from the incident so far, but there was no word on their conditions.
Trooper Scottie Pennington, a Kentucky State Police spokesperson, urged residents in the area to stay inside.
Members of the public have been warned not to approach the person of interest.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also confirmed it was involved in the search.
Earlier, Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear wrote on social media that law enforcement had “shut the interstate down in both directions” near where the shooting happened.
He said the area should be avoided, and urged the public to “pray for everyone involved”.
London is a small city of about 8,000 residents near the Daniel Boone National Forest.
