A grueling manhunt for the suspect wanted in a highway shooting spree stretched into its fifth day as authorities said they believe he retreated deep into a forested swath of southeastern Kentucky with no indication he has fled elsewhere. The search for Joseph A. Couch, a former Army reservist, has used helicopters and drones equipped with infrared technology, while special response teams and trained dogs are tracking him across thousands of acres likened to a jungle. Troopers are hacking through thick vegetation with machetes and scouring the sandstone cliffsides and caves for any sign they're advancing closer.
Officials said Couch, 32, wounded five people Saturday evening in what appeared to be a random attack, and they fear he is determined to kill. As efforts continued Thursday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference that four of the victims have since been released from the hospital with the fifth “expected to survive.” Law enforcement officials are also asking the public for tips of any sightings of Couch and maintain he must be desperate and dehydrated if he remains alive in the woods. “If he’s dead or alive,” Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington told reporters this week, “it’s our job to try to find him.”
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office would later determine that at least 12 vehicles were struck, and some drivers were unaware of the damage until they arrived at their destinations. Five people sustained gunshot wounds, some to the face, arms and chest, none of which were life-threatening, police said. They believe as many as 20 to 30 rounds may have been fired. The same day, they had a person of interest. And not before long, arrest warrants had been issued for Couch on five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault.
Meanwhile, details from Couch’s life have emerged as local, state and federal agencies band together to locate him. He was in the Army Reserve from 2013 to 2019 and served as a combat engineer before he was honorably discharged, state police and a military spokesperson said. London Mayor Randall Weddle told NBC News that Couch was never deployed, adding that family members also informed investigators that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Amid the search, authorities went to his home in Woodbine, about 23 miles from the shooting site, to collect evidence. His criminal record consists of a dismissal in March of a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat that involved an argument with a man with a dog, as well as at least one alleged traffic violation, local prosecutors said. The text messages Couch reportedly sent Saturday after he bought a firearm suggest a fragile state of mind. With law enforcement uncertain about Couch’s whereabouts, schools in Laurel County remain closed out of precaution, and some businesses are offering only drive-thru service.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ma ... rcna170383
4 of the 5 people shot have been released from the hospital, none of the wounds were life threatening according to news sources.
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