After interstate shootings wound 5, searchers comb Kentucky hill country for suspect

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Authorities searched a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky on Sunday for a man suspected of shooting 12 vehicles and wounding five people on a busy interstate.

Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named a suspect in Saturday’s shootings on Interstate 75 after authorities said they recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

The search was focused on a remote area north of London, a community of about 8,000 people some 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington.

“Where is he? That’s the big question right now,” Acciardo told reporters as law enforcement searched a heavily wooded area before sunset. "We’re still in there. We still feel like that he’s in there or we obviously wouldn’t be searching wholeheartedly like we are.”

The search was temporarily suspended after nightfall Sunday evening, but was set to resume early Monday morning.

“We've not had any luck so far, no trace so far, no information or evidence that's at the scene to indicate that he's there. But we believe that he's there,” Acciardo said.

State Police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London state police post, said additional troopers are being brought in from around the state to bolster the manhunt.

At an evening press conference, authorities sought to reassure residents that they believe the suspect will be found.

“We're doing everything that we can do,” said Laurel County Sheriff John Root, adding, ”Just be confident."

Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. Acciardo said authorities found his abandoned vehicle Saturday and then an AR-15 rifle on Sunday in a wooded area near a highway where “he could have shot down upon the interstate from." A phone believed to be Couch’s was found by law enforcement, but the battery had been taken out.

Authorities said Couch purchased the gun and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London. Couch has a military background, having served in the National Guard for at least four years, said Captain Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

Couch was initially considered a person of interest in the case until he was upgraded to a suspect on Sunday, Acciardo said.

Authorities believe there was only one shooter. Acciardo said the shooting appeared to involve some planning but seemed to be a “random act” of violence in which no particular person was targeted. He wouldn't speculate as to a possible motive.

Authorities were notified at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday about gunshots near the interstate's exit 49. An individual who was “off that exit” fired multiple rounds into the northbound and southbound lanes. Authorities initially said nine vehicles were struck by gunfire, but later increased that number to 12, saying some people did not realize their cars had been hit by bullets until they arrived home. Dalrymple said the gunman fired a total of 20 to 30 rounds.

The gunman was not in a vehicle at the time of the shooting.

The wounded — one person from Kentucky and others from out of state — were hospitalized in stable condition Sunday. Some had “very serious” injuries, including one person shot in the face, Acciardo said.

Residents of Laurel County were on edge as authorities searched with a drone, helicopter and on foot in a remote and sparsely populated wooded area near the highway.

Cody Shepherd, sipping a bloody mary outdoors while waiting to watch a football game at the Pour Boyz Sports Lounge in London on Sunday, said locals were abuzz with speculation. A resident of London, he was at a party Saturday at a friend’s house about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of where the shooting occurred.

“We were listening to the police scanners all night,” he said, adding they heard sirens and saw a helicopter overhead.

On Sunday, several local churches canceled services. But Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, was helping direct traffic as parishioners gathered for a morning service. He expected the search would hold down attendance.

“This is tragic, obviously, that somebody would randomly do violent acts,” he said. “You hear media things taking place all around our country, but then when it hits home, it’s a little bit of a wake-up call.”

Authorities released a photo of Couch and warned residents he was believed to be armed and dangerous.

According to Kentucky state court records, Couch was charged in February with misdemeanor “terroristic threatening." However, the charge was dismissed when a victim failed to appear in court. In 2015, Couch was sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted of criminal mischief and unlawful transactions with a minor. Couch also has had a handful of traffic violations and a public intoxication conviction in 2020.

Acciardo said the search is dangerous for first responders and is painstaking because of thick foliage. There are “a lot of woods, a lot of cuts in the rock," he said. “He could be hiding behind a tree and us walk right up on him.”

—

Associated Press journalist John Hanna contributed from Topeka, Kansas.

Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday along the Interstate. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday along the Interstate. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

London, Ky. Mayor Randall Weddle makes comments to the media regarding the shooting that happened near his town along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

London, Ky. Mayor Randall Weddle makes comments to the media regarding the shooting that happened near his town along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

London, Ky. Mayor Randall Weddle makes comments to the media regarding the shooting that happened near his town along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Cody Shepherd talks about all of the rumors that circulated following a shooting on Saturday along Interstate 75 near London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Rodney Goodlett, Pastor of the Faith Assembly Church, gives his reaction to the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Rodney Goodlett, Pastor of the Faith Assembly Church, reacts to the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, public information officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the progress of the investigation into the shooting along Interstate 75 on Saturday in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, public information officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the progress of the investigation into the shooting along Interstate 75 on Saturday in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, public information officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the progress of the investigation into the shooting along Interstate 75 on Saturday in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, public information officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the progress of the investigation into the shooting along Interstate 75 on Saturday in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, Public information Officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details on the progress of the investigation of the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, Public information Officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives an update on the progress of the search for the suspect linked to the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP)

This image released by Kentucky’s London Police Department shows Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, shootings on Interstate 75 near London, Ky. (London Police Department via AP)

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, Public information Officer with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, gives details on the progress of the investigation of the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in Czech Republic and one in Romania.

The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far 16 people have been reported killed — seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys ($258,000) in immediate payouts to victims.

The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments, while receding waters have left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the southwestern Polish city of Nysa to evacuate about 40 patients.

Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.

Experts warned of flood threats due to cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents and where disastrous flooding happened in 1997.

Firefighters in southwestern Poland said flood victims included a surgeon whose body was found Monday morning in Nysa after he was returning from hospital duty. The bodies of two women and two other men have been found in other communities in the region.

Police in the Czech Republic said that a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday. The men were found dead at different locations after water receded in the town of Krnov that was almost completely submerged on Sunday

Romanian authorities said Monday that another person died in the eastern county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to seven.

One death previously was reported in Austria.

Authorities in the Czech Republic declared an emergency in two northeastern regions, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

A number of towns and cities had been submerged in the northeast, with thousands evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety. Waters were receding from the mountainous areas on Monday, leaving behind destroyed houses and bridges and damaged roads.

In most parts of the country, conditions were expected to improve later Monday.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the hardest hit places.

“The worst is behind us and now, we have to deal with all the damage,” Fiala said following the visit.

In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital later in the week, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán canceled his planned foreign engagements, including an address to a plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday where heated debates were expected over his conduct since Hungary took over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July.

“Until we reach the peak and get past the worst of it, I naturally won’t be leaving the country, I’ll be here at home,” he said.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on Facebook that the city would use 1 million sandbags to bolster flood defenses, and asked residents to take extra care when near the river.

Karel Janicek reported from Prague. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)

A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents walk through debris after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident rides a motorcycle after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

View of the destroyed bridge after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Resident struggle through mud after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at his damaged car after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Two German Federal Police officers patrol at the border crossing to Poland in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)

A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)