The suspect who opened fire on a Kentucky highway sent a text message to a woman saying he would “kill a lot of people.” The text was received 30 minutes before he shot and wounded five people on Interstate 75. Authorities are continuing to search for the person of interest, with a $15,000 reward offered for information on his whereabouts.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect sent a disturbing message, which reads: “I’m going to kill a lot of people. I’m going to at least try,” Joseph Couch, 32, wrote and sent, according to an affidavit filed in court.
Couch completed the message by saying, “I’m going to kill myself later.” The Lexington Herald-Leader identified the woman he texted as his ex-wife, The Associated Press reported.
Messages threatening to kill
The woman called 911 after receiving the alarming text messages. She later showed police screenshots of the text message during an interview on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Kentucky authorities are continuing their search for Joseph Couch, and announced that they will offer a $15,000 reward for anyone who can provide information leading to his arrest and discovery.
“The ground search has resumed coordinated by the Laurel Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from many other law enforcement agencies. The Laurel Rescue Squad from London is sending their drone that has Flir to assist in the search,” said Sheriff John Root.
He bought an AR-15 rifle with a thousand cartridges
On the day of the shooting, Couch purchased a scoped AR-15 rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, paying nearly $3,000 in total, according to the arrest warrant published by CNN.
Officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found near I-75, where they discovered a military-style duffel bag containing ammunition and numerous bullet casings.
A short distance away, they found a Colt AR-15 rifle with a scope mounted on the weapon and several extra magazines. The duffel bag had “Couch” written on it, authorities said.
“You can run, but you can’t hide”
“This message is for him: You can run, but you can’t hide,” London Mayor Randall Weddle told CNN.
Investigators have scoured thousands of acres in the area where the shooting occurred and also in mountainous areas near London with drones, helicopters, dogs and dozens of officers. Teams from federal, state and local agencies are searching near where first responders found Couch’s AR-15.
“Officers are being brought in from all over the state to assist in the search, which is focused on a remote area north of London. We have cliffs, sinkholes, caves,” said Scottie Pennington of the Kentucky State Police.
He fired between 20 and 30 shots
Authorities said Couch fired between 20 and 30 shots, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Joseph Couch is charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault.
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