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The manhunt continues for the escaped primary suspect in Saturday’s shooting on U.S. Interstate 75 in Kentucky that left five wounded. Authorities believe he’s hiding in Daniel Boone National Forest.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office on Monday announced a $15,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Joseph Couch, 32. On Tuesday, the United Way of Laurel County added $10,000 to that reward, the group’s executive director, Judy Nicholson, posted on Facebook.
Mr. Couch is a White man standing 5-10 and weighing 154 pounds, per a wanted poster from the Kentucky State Police. He’s considered armed and dangerous.
The search for Mr. Couch was continuing Tuesday. Authorities warned that finding Mr. Couch could take time, especially as they believe he fled into a wooded area that offers wide cover.
“We are in the Daniel Boone National Forest, and this is thousands and thousands of acres, and as I stated last night, it’s kind of like a jungle and we have cliff beds, we have sinkholes, we have caves, we have culverts that go under the interstate,” KSP spokesman Scottie Pennington said at a press conference Monday.
Schools in the area were closed Monday and remained so Tuesday out of caution.
A warrant for Mr. Couch’s arrest said that he texted just before the shooting, “I’m going to kill a lot of people.”
He has been charged with five counts of criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault, according to The Associated Press.
Mr. Couch served in the Army Reserve from 2013-19 as a combat engineer, though he was not deployed. Authorities said he bought an AR-15 Saturday morning in London, Kentucky, along with about 1,000 rounds of ammunition for the gun, reported AP.
All five victims, identified as Harlan County, Kentucky, native Rebecca Puryear, Floridians Renee Walker and Erick Tabin, and Norma Liberia and Janet Booth, both of whose homes aren’t publicly known, survived the incident and are in stable condition, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Ms. Puryear was shot in the right arm. She was released from the hospital Saturday night and will have surgery later. She told the Herald-Leader, “I looked at my husband and said, ’What was that?’ He said it was gunshots. I said, ’Oh my God!’ Next thing I know, my ears are ringing. I was just gushing the blood. I looked at my chest and said, ’My chest is burning.’”
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