The search for the suspect accused of launching a mass shooting on a Kentucky highway over the weekend continues Monday as it's revealed he had texted someone just 30 minutes prior that he intended to "kill a lot of people."
The search for Joseph A. Couch, 32, who authorities described as “armed and dangerous,” continued in connection with the Saturday evening shooting on Interstate 75, 8 miles north of the small city of London.
Five people were shot and left seriously injured. The wounded were identified by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office Monday as: Rebecca Puyear, Norma Liberia, Renee Walker, Janet Booth and Erick Tavin.
Couch has since been charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault in an arrest warrant.
Once he’s taken into custody, “the court processes will begin quickly with the District Court,” Jackie Steele, commonwealth’s attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit, said in a statement to NBC News. He could face other, less serious charges in connection with the other drivers affected in the shooting, such as property damage and wanton endangerment.
A $10,000 reward is also now being offered for information on his whereabouts leading to his capture, London Mayor Randall Weddle said.
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Couch had previously served in the Army Reserve and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Weddle told NBC News correspondent Priya Sridhar on Monday.
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What we know about the shooting
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office has said that the gunman in the shooting opened fire from three different perches along a ridge that looks down on the interstate. An AR-15, believed to have been used in the shooting, was found near Couch’s vehicle that was found near the scene Saturday night.
Dispatch received reports of multiple people shot on I-75 around 5:30 p.m. on Sept 7.
Just a half hour prior, Laurel dispatch had received a call from a woman who said that Couch had texted her saying he intended to kill a lot of people, an affidavit for an arrest warrant obtained by NBC News said.
Investigators interviewed that woman who called dispatch on Sunday and she showed a screenshot of that text that read, in part, “I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least.” Another message he sent to her read: “I’ll kill myself afterwards …”In the shooting, at least 12 vehicles were struck, though some didn't realize their cars were hit until they arrived at their destinations hours away. As many as 20 to 30 rounds may have been fired, Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Dalrymple said.
All the shot victims are stable and expected to survive, officials said Sunday.
Officials said Sunday that the suspect had purchased the AR-15 and about 1,000 rounds legally at a local gun store Saturday morning. According to the affidavit, Couch paid $2,914.40 for the AR-15, a sight mounted on it and the ammo.
A gun case and several charged magazines were also found in the suspect’s SUV. Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Sunday that the suspect went through all the proper paperwork and had nothing on record that would have prevented the sale.
An investigation into the shooting, and potential motive, now turned over to Kentucky State Police, remains ongoing.
A former Army Reservist with a relatively clean record
Couch had served in the Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019, as a combat engineer, a spokesperson for the Army Reserve confirmed.
"He was a private at the end of service," the spokesperson said, noting he had no deployments.
Family members of Couch had told investigators that he had grappled with PTSD, Weddle said Monday.
“The reports came from some of the family member of Joseph, so they’re the ones that sent that on to investigators,” he said.
He is not a felon and has a relatively clean record that includes the March dismissal of a charge of making a terrorist threat and at least one alleged traffic violation, Steele, the prosecutor for the region, said. He's believed to have acted alone in the shooting.
Deputies were searching for Couch in the remote woods near the scene of the shooting Sunday.
Weddle said the terrain where he could be hiding is rugged and includes an old salt mine cave that runs very deep.
"This terrain is some of the roughest terrain to go in. A lot of trees, a lot of vegetation," he said. "People got to keep in mind, [Couch] has a military background. So when you hear a helicopter and it’s blacked out, he knows to hide, or he hears the thrum."
Laurel County Public Schools said school is canceled Monday “out of an abundance of caution.”
Weddle said that he's heard from the governor's office and the White House, offering support.
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