Interstate 75 Kentucky shooting

Last updated

Interstate 75 Kentucky shooting
LocationInterstate 75, Laurel County, Kentucky, United States
Coordinates 37°13′35.3″N84°12′55.0″W / 37.226472°N 84.215278°W / 37.226472; -84.215278
DateSeptember 7, 2024;4 months ago (2024-09-07)
c. 5:30 p.m. (EDT)
TargetPeople in cars
Attack type
 Mass shooting
Weapon Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured8 (5 by gunfire) [1] [2]
PerpetratorJoseph Allen Couch
MotiveUnknown

On September 7, 2024, five people were wounded during a mass shooting on Kentucky's Interstate 75. A gunman, subsequently identified as Joseph A. Couch, fired at least 20 rounds at passing cars from the overpass at exit 49. He escaped from the scene and was the subject of a manhunt. Couch's body was found 11 days later, having died from a self-inflicted gunshot. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Shooting

At around 5:30 p.m., a lone gunman fired 20–30 rounds at people in passing vehicles from a ledge on the side of a cliff overlooking Interstate 75, striking twelve vehicles and seriously injuring five people. [6] [7] [8] Victims were transported to Saint Joseph London Hospital and the UK HealthCare by ambulances and other law enforcement vehicles due to the severity of their injuries. All victims survived. [9]

Victims

Eight people were injured, five by gunshot and three by vehicle collisions caused by the gunfire. All of the victims were in stable condition. [10]

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was identified as Joseph Allen Couch (August 6, 1992 [11] – September 7, 2024), a 32-year-old male resident of Woodbine, Kentucky. He previously served in the Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019 as a combat engineer (MOS 12B) with the rank of private. [12] Before the shooting, Couch had legally purchased a firearm along with 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the gun store Center Target Firearms and then texted his ex-wife that he was going to "kill a lot of people" and then kill himself. [7] [13] [14] [15] Couch had previously been arrested and charged on February 5, 2024, for making third-degree terroristic threats after threatening to kill his neighbor and his neighbor's dog with an AR-15. [16] Couch's body was found on September 18, having died from a self-inflicted gunshot. [17]

Aftermath

Eight people were injured, including three people due to vehicle crashes caused by the shooting, seventeen cars were shot and damaged. [8] The highway was closed for three hours until around 9:30 p.m., an SOS alert was sent out, a state of emergency was declared and a manhunt ensued in search of the gunman, which resumed on September 8 at around 9 a.m. [18] [19] [20] A suspected shooting on September 11 near Hal Rogers Parkway in Hazard prompted the Perry County school district to put schools on lockdown and cancel classes the next day. The preliminary investigation by the Hazard Police Department indicated that there was no shooting and there was no danger to the public. [21]

On September 12, Governor Andy Beshear expressed his appreciation for the recovery of four of the five victims and acknowledged the efforts of first responders. [22]

On September 13, Exit 49 was reopened after having been blocked off since the attack. [23]

Manhunt

The manhunt for the suspect resumed on September 8, 2024, involving drones, police dogs, helicopters and dozens of police officers in the Daniel Boone National Forest. [24] [9] The police stated the shooting was a random attack, and was not road rage-related. [25] The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said they located the suspect's car, a semi-automatic Colt AR-15 mounted with a sight, a gun case, several additional magazines, a phone, spent shell casings and a green Army-style duffel bag with "Couch" written on it in black marker, in a wooded area next to the interstate. [26] [27] Schools in the area were closed on September 9 through September 11 as the manhunt continued. [3] [28] A $35,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator. [29]

On September 18, two people found a decomposed body in a forested area near the Interstate exit. The body, believed to be Couch, was found after the couple noticed vultures circling the area. [30] An initial DNA test was inconclusive, but an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. [31] Couch's body was identified on September 20. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shootout</span> Combat between two parties using firearms

A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is an armed confrontation entailing firearms between armed parties using guns, always entailing intense disagreement(s) between the fighting parties. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 75 in Kentucky</span> Interstate Highway in Kentucky, United States

Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 1,786.47 miles (2,875.04 km) from Miami Lakes, Florida to the Canada–United States border at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. In the U.S. state of Kentucky, I-75 runs through the eastern half of the state, from the Tennessee state line near the city of Williamsburg to the Ohio state line near Covington. The Interstate serves the state's second-most populous city, Lexington. Outside of it, the route is mostly rural or suburban in nature, mainly providing access to other cities via state and U.S. Highways. The major landscapes traversed by I-75 include the rolling hills and mountains of the Cumberland Plateau, the flat Bluegrass region, the urban core of Lexington, and the highly urbanized suburbs of Northern Kentucky; it also very briefly crosses through the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield at its southernmost stretch and passes near the Daniel Boone National Forest in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbria shootings</span> 2010 shooting spree in Cumbria, England

The Cumbria shootings were a shooting spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, taxi driver Derrick Bird, killed twelve people and injured eleven others in Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre and the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, it is one of the worst criminal acts involving firearms in British history. The shootings ended when Bird killed himself in a wooded area after abandoning his car in the village of Boot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Northumbria Police manhunt</span> Major police operation in July 2010

The 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt was a major police operation conducted across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland with the objective of apprehending fugitive Raoul Moat. After killing one person and wounding two others in a two-day shooting spree in July 2010, the 37-year-old ex-prisoner went on the run for nearly a week. The manhunt concluded when Moat died by suicide having shot himself near the town of Rothbury, Northumberland, following a six-hour standoff with armed police officers under the command of the Northumbria Police.

On July 7, 2011, a gunman killed seven people and wounded two others in a spree killing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The killings occurred in two homes, with the two non-fatal gunshot injuries taking place on the road. The suspected gunman, Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, was pursued by police on a lengthy car chase which eventually left his vehicle disabled in a highway woodline and after holding hostages in a nearby house for several hours, took his own life. Those killed included Dantzler's estranged wife, their daughter, his former girlfriend, and members of the other victims' families. One of the non-fatal victims was also acquainted with Dantzler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt</span> 2013 murders in California

Christopher Jordan Dorner was a former officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) who, beginning on February 3, 2013, committed a series of killings against the LAPD in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California. The victims were law enforcement officers and the daughter of a retired police captain. Dorner killed four people and wounded three others. On February 12, Dorner was cornered by police in a cabin in the woods that was set on fire where he killed himself after a shootout with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies in the San Bernardino Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Santa Monica shootings</span> Shooting spree in Santa Monica, California, US

On June 7, 2013, a spree shooting occurred in Santa Monica, California. Its catalyst was a domestic dispute and subsequent fire at a home, followed by a series of shootings near and on the Santa Monica College campus. Six people were killed, including the suspect, and four injured. The shooter—23-year-old John Zawahri—was killed by police officers when he exchanged gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

The 2014 Montgomery County shootings were a killing spree that occurred in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, on December 15, 2014. The killings began at about 3:30 a.m. A woman was found dead in Lower Salford Township, two others were found dead in Lansdale, and three more were found in Souderton along with a wounded teenage boy. Police identified the suspected killer as 35-year-old Bradley William Stone of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, and the victims were his ex-wife and her family members. Most of the victims were shot, although some were also stabbed with a knife. After an extensive manhunt, Stone was found dead on the day after the killings in the woods near his home. He reportedly committed suicide by overdosing on several drugs.

On 1 January 2016, an Israeli Arab gunman opened fire on several businesses on Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv, Israel, killing two and injuring seven civilians. He also killed a taxi driver while fleeing. The attack was believed to be inspired by ISIS. The event took place in parallel with the 2015-16 Palestinian unrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cascade Mall shooting</span> 2016 mass shooting in Washington, US

On September 23, 2016, a mass shooting occurred at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, U.S. Five people were killed in the incident. The gunman was identified as Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old who emigrated from Turkey as a child with his family. He was arrested the following day in Oak Harbor, Washington, his hometown. On September 26, he confessed to committing the shooting. On April 16, 2017, Cetin killed himself via hanging in his jail cell.

On November 22, 2018, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., an African-American man, was shot three times from behind and killed by Hoover police officer David Alexander on the night of Thanksgiving, at the Riverchase Galleria shopping mall in Hoover, Alabama. Police responded to a shooting at the mall where two people were shot. Another African-American man suspected in the first shooting was arrested in Georgia a week later and charged in the shooting of one of those injured. Bradford was holding a legally owned weapon when shot and was not involved in the prior shooting incident, although near the crime scene. The shooting of Bradford was immediately controversial, and was condemned by the Alabama National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as an example of racially biased policing.

This is a list of protests brought on by the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in Kentucky, United States. In 2020, there were protests throughout Kentucky in reaction to the shooting of Breonna Taylor and murder of George Floyd by police, as well as the shooting of David McAtee by the Kentucky Army National Guard. The demonstrations happened regularly in the largest cities in Kentucky, including Louisville and Lexington. Many of the smaller cities had protests on at least one day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collierville Kroger shooting</span> Mass shooting in Collierville, Tennessee

The Collierville Kroger shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on September 23, 2021, at a Kroger grocery store in Collierville, Tennessee. One person was killed and 14 others were injured before the gunman, identified as 29-year-old Uk Thang, committed suicide by gunshot. Thang was working at the store as a third-party vendor. It was the second shooting in 2021 to occur at a Kroger-owned property; the first occurred at a King Soopers store in Boulder, Colorado, in March.

On September 7, 2022, three people were killed and three others were injured after a gunman went on a shooting spree in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The attack was livestreamed on Facebook Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Louisville bank shooting</span> Mass murder in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

On April 10, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Five people were killed, and eight others were injured, including two responding police officers. The shooter, 25-year-old former employee Connor James Sturgeon, was fatally shot by police.

References

  1. ↑ "Manhunt underway after 5 people injured in Kentucky shooting near Interstate 75, officials say". CTV News. September 7, 2024. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Active shooter: At least 4 people shot on I-75 in Laurel County, Kentucky". BNO News. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Wendling, Mike; Hayes, Christal; Drenon, Brandon (September 11, 2024). "Kentucky I-75 shootings: Schools closed amid hunt for gunman". BBC. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  4. ↑ Razek, Raja; Tucker, Emma (September 7, 2024). "Numerous people shot in Kentucky near Interstate 75, officials say". CNN. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Police resume manhunt for Kentucky shooting suspect". RTÉ News. September 8, 2024. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  6. ↑ Leach, Christopher; Estep, Bill (September 9, 2024). "Suspected KY I-75 shooter may still be hiding in national forest. Police believe he acted alone" . Lexington Herald-Leader . Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Sizemore, Anthony (September 9, 2024). "Suspect sent texts before interstate mass shooting, affidavit says". WYMT-TV . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Hamrick, Brian (September 17, 2024). "KSP moves command post in search for I-75 shooter based on trail dogs are following". WLWT. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Baarlaer, Killian; McCrary, Eleanor; Smith, Rachel; Bertucci, Leo (September 8, 2024). "Kentucky shooting: Suspect was in Army Reserve, purchased weapon, ammo Saturday". Louisville Courier Journal . Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. ↑ Goodman, Danielle (September 8, 2024). "5 people shot during Laurel County shooting; Deputies search for person of interest". WLKY. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  11. ↑ "24-M-75 - Joseph Couch February 2024 warrant" (PDF). Spectrum News (Kentucky/Southern Indiana) . February 7, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Manhunt for Kentucky shooting suspect cancels classes as authorities urge people to be on high alert". CBS News. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ Wolfe, Elizabeth; Sottile, Zoe; Pazmino, Gloria (September 9, 2024). "Kentucky I-75 shooting suspect vowed over text to 'kill a lot of people,' arrest warrant says". CNN . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  14. ↑ Leach, Christopher (September 9, 2024). "'I'm going to kill a lot of people.' I-75 shooting suspect sent texts before attack". Lexington Herald-Leader . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Marina; Smith, Rachel; Baarlaer, Killian; McCrary, Eleanor; Bertucci, Leo (September 9, 2024). "Kentucky I-75 shooting: Suspect charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault". Louisville Courier Journal . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  16. ↑ Powell, Curadhan (September 10, 2024). "I-75 shooting suspect was charged earlier in 2024 with threatening to kill man and his dog". WLKY . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  17. 1 2 Slaven, Janie; Nantz, Madison (September 20, 2024). "Body confirmed to be Joseph Couch". The Times-Tribune.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  18. ↑ Keck, Matthew (September 13, 2024). "Manhunt for Kentucky highway shooting suspect enters day 7". WLKY . Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Goodman, Danielle (September 7, 2024). "5 people shot during Laurel County shooting; Deputies search for person of interest". WLKY. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  20. ↑ Holpuch, Amanda (September 8, 2024). "Five People Shot on I-75 in Kentucky Highway Shooting, Officials Say". The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  21. ↑ Foley, Drake (September 11, 2024). "Police: No shooting took place at Exit 59". WYMT-TV . Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  22. ↑ Keck, Matthew (September 12, 2024). "Kentucky I-75 shooting: 4 victims released from hospital, football games canceled". WLKY. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  23. ↑ Patel, Ajay (September 13, 2024). "Exit 49 on I-75 reopens after shooting". WLEX-TV . Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  24. ↑ Sottile, Zoe; Ebrahimji, Alisha (September 10, 2024). "Why the search for the Kentucky I-75 shooting suspect is so difficult". CNN . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  25. ↑ "AR-15 recovered near I-75 shooting scene in Kentucky as man hunt continues". MSNBC . September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  26. ↑ Sanderson, Emily; Hamrick, Brian (September 8, 2024). "Kentucky police recover AR-15, vehicle believed to belong to person of interest in I-75 shooting". WLWT . Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  27. ↑ Schreiner, Bruce; Lovan, Dylan (September 9, 2024). "Man accused of shooting 5 on Kentucky interstate vowed to 'kill a lot of people,' warrant says". Associated Press . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Kentucky school districts cancel classes for third day amid manhunt". WKYT. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  29. ↑ Carmouche, Madison (September 10, 2024). "I-75 shooting manhunt: Reward increased again". WYMT-TV . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  30. ↑ Monica, Kast; Six, Taylor (September 18, 2024). "Couple behind Hatfield & McCoy museum finds body on livestream in area of I-75 shooting". Lexington Herald-Leader . The video showed a body lying in the back of a hollow, and the couple said the body appeared to have deteriorated.
  31. ↑ Helsel, Phil (September 20, 2024). "Initial DNA test on remains believed to be of suspected Kentucky highway shooter is inconclusive". NBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.