Man accused of shooting 5 on Kentucky interstate vowed to 'kill a lot of people,' warrant says

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — The man suspected of opening fire on a highway in Kentucky sent a text message vowing to “kill a lot of people” less than 30 minutes before he shot and wounded five people on Interstate 75, authorities said in an arrest warrant.

“I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least,” Joseph Couch, 32, wrote in the text message, according to the warrant affidavit filed in court. In a separate text message, Couch wrote, “I’ll kill myself afterwards,” the affidavit says.

The Lexington Herald-Leader identified the woman Couch sent the text messages to as his ex-wife. The affidavit does not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman who received the texts.

The affidavit, written by Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, said that before authorities received the first report of the shooting about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, a dispatcher in Laurel County got a call from a woman who told them Couch had sent her the text messages at 5:03 p.m.

In response to that call, police initiated a tracker on Couch’s cellphone but the location wasn’t received until 6:53 p.m., the affidavit states, almost 90 minutes after the highway shooting.

The affidavit obtained by The Associated Press charges Couch with five counts each of criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault.

On Sunday, law enforcement officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found, with a view of I-75. There, they found a green Army-style duffel bag, ammunition and numerous spent shell casings, the affidavit says. A short distance away, they found a Colt AR-15 rifle with a site mounted to the weapon and several additional magazines. The duffel bag had “Couch” hand-written in black marker.

Searchers have been combing thousands of acres in the rugged, hilly area near London, a small city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington.

State police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London post, said troopers are being brought in from across the state to aid in the search focused on a remote area about 8 miles (13 kilometers) north of London. He described the extensive search area as “walking in a jungle” with machetes needed to cut through thickets.

“We have cliff beds. We have sinkholes. We have caves,” Pennington said Monday. “We have culverts that go under the interstate. We have creeks and rivers and the dense brush.”

Authorities vowed to keep up their relentless pursuit in the densely wooded area as local residents worried about where the shooter might turn up next.

“We’re not going to quit until we do lay hands on him,” Laurel County Sheriff John Root said.

Rebecca Puryear told the Lexington Herald-Leader she’s thankful to be alive after she was shot across her chest in her right arm. She was with her husband and 4-year-old son coming home after a meal at Olive Garden.

Another bullet burst into fragments upon hitting the door of her Toyota Camry, injuring her left arm, too.

“I looked at my husband and said, ‘What was that?’ He said it was gunshots. I said, ‘Oh my God!’ “ Puryear, 28, told the newspaper.

She was “gushing blood," but her husband urged her to keep driving. She pulled over a mile up the road and her husband told her to take off her shirt and press it to the wound while he called 911.

Puryear is out of the hospital but will have to have surgery at a later date. .

“This man was out to kill, and he almost did,” Puryear said, adding: “In a blink of an eye you could not be here. I don’t want nobody else’s family to go through this.”

Meanwhile, area school districts were shut down Monday across a wide swath of southeastern Kentucky as the search for Couch stretched into a third day.

Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the shooting scene agreed with the decision to close schools.

“I’d be afraid he’d try to hijack the bus and take the kids as hostages," said Hess, who has a first grader and a preschooler. “I’m worried about everybody because they don’t know where he’s at ... We don’t know what he’s capable of right now.”

Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. An employee of a gun store in London, Center Target Firearms, informed authorities that Couch purchased an AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition hours before the shooting, the affidavit said.

Joe Arnold, the gun store’s manager, declined to comment Monday. He said he did not want to interfere with the investigation.

“We’d love for him to be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Arnold told the AP.

Kentucky has few regulations on purchasing guns and carrying them in public. The state’s gun laws “are among the worst in the country” according to a report by Everytown For Gun Safety, a gun safety nonprofit group.

Kentucky legislators repealed a law in 2019 that required a permit for carrying a concealed weapon. The state also does not require a background check at the point of purchase.

Authorities in Kentucky said Monday that Couch was in the Army Reserve and not the National Guard, as officials initially indicated. The U.S. Army said in a statement that Couch served from 2013 to 2019 as a combat engineer. He was a private when he left and had no deployments.

Pennington said Monday that military experience doesn't make Couch a trained survivalist, while the plan is to wear Couch down.

“How long can you really survive?” Pennington said. "We hope he just walks out.”

Authorities said Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate Saturday.

Christina DiNoto, who witnessed the shooting while driving, said Monday the search weighs heavily on her mind.

“To know that he’s still at large — that makes me nervous, honestly,” DiNoto said.

Associated Press reporters Tara Copp in Washington, Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.

Laurel County Sheriff John Root addresses the media to give an update on the efforts to find the suspect in the shooting at I-75 at the Livingston Ky. exit at the Laurel County Sheriff's Office in London, Ky., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer Master Seargeant Scottie Pennington addresses the media to give an update on the efforts to find the suspect in the shooting at I-75 at the Livingston Ky. exit at the Laurel County Sheriff's Office in London, Ky., Monday, Sept. 9, 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)

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 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)

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Kentucky State Police Major Eric Walker gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Stansbury gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

London Mayor Randall Weddle gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer Master Sergeant Scottie Pennington gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Laurel County Sheriff's Captain Richard Dalrymple gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Laurel County sheriff John Root gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs faces federal charges in New York, his lawyer said late Monday.

Details of the charges weren't immediately announced by prosecutors, but Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

He added that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.

Criminal charges would be a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.

The federal investigation of the 58-year-old Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

His defense attorney Aaron Dyer the day after the raids called them “a gross use of military-level force,” said the allegations were “meritless,” and said Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot and killed in 1997. But like many of those who survived the era, his public image had softened with age into a genteel host of parties in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-forward businessman, and a doting father who spoiled his kids, some of whom lost their mother in 2018.

But a different image began emerging in November, when his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse with stories of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled settings where some of those involved were coerced or cajoled into sex.

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by engaging in “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion.” It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.

The suit was settled settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Combs lost lingering allies, supporters and those reserving judgment when CNN in May aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.

The following day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampos, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs and a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.

Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits’ allegations.

While authorities did not publicly say that the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served that the case was based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie and Lampros did.

As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades Along with the Notorious B.I.G. he worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

Combs’ roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.

The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)