An Army veteran remains at large days after firing an AR-15 weapon on a busy highway in Kentucky, and authorities have now revealed how he purchased the firearm just hours before the shooting.
Joseph Couch, 32, has evaded capture since Saturday afternoon, and his gun was found in the woods along with ammunition, his car and what Laurel County sheriff’s deputies said could be his cellphone.
The discovery was the product of a search that lasted several days on Saturday and Sunday, through the rugged, mountainous and densely wooded terrain near Exit 49 on I-75.
The night before, Crouch had fired the same gun from a cliff ledge on the side of the interstate highway about nine miles north of London.
The crash hit 12 vehicles and injured five people. There were no deaths and the search for Couch continued early Monday morning.
Joseph Couch, 32, remains at large after firing an AR-15 on a busy highway in Kentucky on Saturday
Authorities revealed Sunday that the Army veteran purchased the firearm hours before the shooting, which stopped traffic near Exit 49 on I-75.
“We have numerous people still searching the wooded area there,” Officer Gilbert Acciardo said at the crime scene Sunday.
‘The ATF, the FBI and the Marshals Service, their ERTS (Emergency Response Teams) are there to help us process what we have so far,” he said.
‘Last night we recovered the suspect’s vehicle in that area, so he is a person of interest. The vehicle was returned registered in his name.
“That recovery was made late last night and that’s why we had the information we had today,” he continued, before revealing what officials had found seconds earlier.
“In the last few minutes we located an AR-15,” he said.
“It’s going to be processed and it’s in a wooded area off the interstate.”
He added that the gun was found “in a location (where Couch) could have shot down on the interstate,” before answering a question about where police had found the car the night before.
“It’s on a forest service road at the top of the hill off of exit 49, down another little trail off that forest service road,” he said.
“We have numerous people still searching the wooded area there,” Officer Gilbert Acciardo said at the crime scene Sunday, before revealing how investigators had found the murder weapon moments earlier.
Meanwhile, Couch remains at large, likely in the wooded area adjacent to the highway.
Police recovered what they confirmed was Couch’s Toyota, after describing the shooting as “propaganda” and not the result of road rage.
The highway was packed with motorists, though none were fatally hit by the unspecified number of bullets. In total, five people were hit, all in stable condition.
‘Very close to the interstate, but not close enough that (Couch) could have fired from that location.
“He had to walk to the interstate, which is where we recovered the gun.”
Following the discovery, police upgraded Couch from a person of interest to a suspect, a development that Laurel County Sheriff John Root, when questioned, said was also due to “some information” he could not share.
Root added that he and investigators believed Couch was still in the area, hiding in the woods. State Police Senior Trooper Scottie Pennington said it was like “walking through a jungle,” with machetes needed to cut through forest thickets.
Acciardo added that it appeared the attacker planned the shooting from that specific location, due to its remoteness and mountainous terrain.
Also rocky and difficult to navigate, the area was only found by Laurel County Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Dalrymple when he grabbed a tree and looked down at the site: a ledge about 30 feet from a cliff overlooking Exit 49.
Dalrymple, during a briefing later that night, said Couch purchased about 1,000 rounds of ammunition and the gun used in the incident, legally, on Saturday morning, just hours before the shooting.
Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Couch was upgraded to suspect Sunday due in part to “some information” he was unable to share.
A window is seen here shattered by the hail of gunfire toward Couch, who remains at large and may still be armed, police said Sunday.
On Sunday night, Laurel County Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Dalrymple revealed that Couch legally purchased about 1,000 rounds of ammunition and the gun used in the Saturday morning incident just hours before the shooting.
Following that revelation, a massive manhunt for Couch, involving 150 men, which had begun at 8 a.m. Monday, was called off.
Earlier Sunday, Acciardo described Couch’s shooting as “sniper-like,” saying it was not the result of a road rage attack and was premeditated.
He added that investigators did not believe at the time that the shooter — a confirmed Army veteran who lived in Woodbine — knew any of the victims or had contact with them before firing the burst of bullets.
Despite finding the gun he used in the incident, police said Sunday that the suspect may still be armed and dangerous, and warned anyone who sees him not to approach and instead contact authorities.
Investigators also raised the possibility that Couch may have committed suicide somewhere in the woods, though that remains to be seen.
Police said the victims he shot suffered wounds to the face, chest and arms, but were all in stable condition at a hospital Sunday night. None of the victims’ names were released.
However, a witness spoke on ABC’s Good Morning America on Sunday, recalling how he was driving with a friend south on I-75, heading toward Tennessee, when the shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Witness Christina Dinoto spoke on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Sunday as she was driving with a friend south on I-75 toward Tennessee when the shooting broke out.
The search for Couch continued on Monday, with London Mayor Randall Weddle saying his office is “monitoring the situation.”
“All of a sudden, we heard a loud, deafening noise,” Christina Dinoto said. “And my ear, my right ear, started ringing,” she continued.
‘We didn’t know what that sound was, but we both looked at each other and said: was that a gunshot?’
At that point, he said, he pulled off the interstate in Knoxville and discovered what he believes was damage left by a bullet fired by the suspect.
With the motive still unknown, the three-day search has left area residents in suspense, and all Laurel County public schools were canceled Monday.
Meanwhile, the search for Couch continues, with London Mayor Randall Weddle saying his office is “monitoring the situation.”