LONDON, Kentucky — Nervous residents near the scene of a gunman’s shooting on a Kentucky highway are taking precautions they never thought would be necessary in their rural neighborhood. Searchers combed the woods Tuesday in hopes of finding the suspect.
Brandi Campbell said her family has gone to bed early and kept the lights out since five people were injured in the attack Saturday on Interstate 75 near London, a town of about 8,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington.
“We go home, the lights go out, and we go upstairs, but our doors remain locked,” she said.
Several area school districts remained closed Tuesday, while a few others switched to distance learning, as the search for 32-year-old Joseph Couch continues for four days.
Searchers are combing a vast area of rugged, hilly terrain near the scene of the shooting, north of London. There is no indication he ran away, said Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London police station.
Questions have been raised about whether there is any evidence that Couch is dead or alive.
“Some people say, ‘What if he’s not alive?’” Pennington told reporters. “Well, we’re going to stay in the woods until we find him. That’s our job. Whether he’s dead or alive, it’s our job to find him.”
If Couch is dead, “nature will take care of itself” and buzzards may gather overhead, which could be a sign to searchers, Pennington said.
Less than 30 minutes before he shot at 12 vehicles and wounded five people, Couch sent a text message “He vowed to “kill many people,” authorities allege in an arrest warrant.
“I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well, at least try,” Couch wrote in the text message, according to an affidavit for the warrant obtained by The Associated Press. In a separate text, Couch wrote, “I’m going to kill myself after that,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit does not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman who received the text messages, but the Lexington Herald-Leader identified her as his ex-wife.
The statement released by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said that before authorities received the first report of the shooting, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, a Laurel County dispatcher received a call from the woman who told them Couch had sent her the text messages at 5:03 p.m.
Following that call, police started a tracker on Couch’s cellphone, but the location was not received until 6:53 p.m., the affidavit said, nearly 90 minutes after the freeway shooting.
As search teams continued their methodical work, aided by more helicopters in the air, authorities hoped that a lack of basic supplies would force Couch to surrender if he was still hiding in the woods.
“I hope he doesn’t have water,” Pennington said. “I hope he doesn’t have food. And I hope he’s exhausted and eventually walks out of that woods.”
On Sunday, officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found, overlooking I-75. They found a green military-style bag, ammunition and numerous spent shell casings, the affidavit said. A short distance away, they found a Colt AR-15 rifle with a location tag attached to the weapon and several extra magazines. The bag was handwritten in black marker on the label “Couch.”
According to investigators, Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds during Saturday’s attack, hitting 12 vehicles on the highway.
Pennington said troops had been brought in from across the state to help with the search. He described the extensive search area as “walking in a jungle,” with machetes needed to cut through brush.
Authorities vowed to continue the chase in the densely wooded area as locals worried about where the gunman might next surface.
Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles from the shooting scene, said she hasn’t let her children go outside to play since the shooting.
“I’m just afraid to go to the door if someone knocks,” she said.
Pennington said authorities have “done their utmost” to find Couch and end the fear.
“It’s hard when people are so scared right now that there’s probably someone else out there,” he said.
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Schreiner reported from Louisville.