LONDON, Ky. (AP) 鈥� The man suspected of sent a text message vowing to 鈥渒ill a lot of people鈥� less than 30 minutes before he shot and wounded five people on Interstate 75, authorities said in an arrest warrant.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least,鈥� Joseph Couch, 32, wrote in the text message, according to the warrant affidavit filed in court. In a separate text message, Couch wrote, 鈥淚鈥檒l kill myself afterwards,鈥� the affidavit says.
The Lexington Herald-Leader identified as his ex-wife. The affidavit does not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman who got the texts.
The affidavit, written by Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, said that before authorities received the first report of the shooting about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, a dispatcher in Laurel County got a call from a woman who told them Couch had sent her the text messages at 5:03 p.m.
In response to that call, police initiated a tracker on Couch鈥檚 cellphone but the location wasn鈥檛 received until 6:53 p.m., the affidavit states, almost 90 minutes after the highway shooting.
The affidavit obtained by The Associated Press charges Couch with five counts each of criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault.
On Sunday, the day after the shooting, law enforcement officers searched an area near the location where Couch鈥檚 vehicle was found, with a view of I-75.
There, they found a green Army-style duffel bag, ammunition and numerous spent shell casings, the affidavit says. A short distance away, they found a Colt AR-15 rifle with a site mounted to the weapon and several additional magazines. The duffel bag had 鈥淐ouch鈥� hand-written in black marker.
Searchers have been combing the rugged, hilly near London, a small city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington. Authorities vowed to keep up their relentless pursuit in the densely wooded area as local residents worried about where the shooter might turn up next.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to quit until we do lay hands on him,鈥� Laurel County Sheriff John Root said, with the search area covering thousands of acres (hectares).
Christina DiNoto, who witnessed the shooting Saturday while driving on I-75, said Monday that it weighed heavily on her mind.
鈥淭o know that he鈥檚 still at large 鈥� that makes me nervous, honestly,鈥� she said.
DiNoto, an IT project manager, said the shooting also unlocked a new kind of fear, 鈥渓ike you have to be scared to even just drive on the highways.鈥�
Meanwhile, more than a dozen school districts shut down Monday across a wide swath of southeastern Kentucky as the grueling search for Couch stretched into a third day.
Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the shooting scene in rural Laurel County, agreed with the decision to close schools there. Both of her children, a first grader and preschooler, normally take the bus.
鈥淚鈥檇 be afraid he鈥檇 try to hijack the bus and take the kids as hostages," Hess said. 鈥淚鈥檓 worried about everybody because they don鈥檛 know where he鈥檚 at. I鈥檓 hoping they catch him soon. We don鈥檛 know what he鈥檚 capable of right now.鈥�
Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff鈥檚 Office said authorities are doing everything they can.
鈥淭he longer we continue, and the more area we clear and the more places we are sure he is not, the safer people are going to be,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 confident eventually we鈥檒l figure it out and we鈥檒l find him.鈥�
State police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London post, said troopers are being brought in from across the state to aid in the search focused on a remote area about 8 miles (13 kilometers) north of London. He described the extensive search area as 鈥渨alking in a jungle鈥� with machetes needed to cut through thickets.
Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. Authorities said he purchased the weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London.
Kentucky has few regulations on purchasing guns and carrying them in public. The state鈥檚 gun laws 鈥渁re among the worst in the country鈥� according to a report by Everytown For Gun Safety, a gun safety nonprofit group.
A man who fatally shot five co-workers at a Louisville bank in 2023 that he was surprised he could buy an AR-15 and 120 rounds in less than an hour. He wrote that it was 鈥渟o easy鈥� despite his history of mental illness.
Kentucky legislators repealed a law in 2019 that required a permit for carrying a concealed weapon. The state also does not require a background check at the point of purchase.
The U.S. Army said in a statement that Couch was in the Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019 as a combat engineer who was a private when he left and had no deployments.
Authorities said the shooter fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate Saturday.
DiNoto, 39, was driving through Kentucky with a friend on her way back to Houston after visiting relatives in Rochester, New York, when they heard and assumed a rock had hit her back windshield. Her friend wondered whether it was gunshots, but they quickly dismissed the possibility.
The driver of a truck in the next lane slumped over and pulled to the side of the road, but DiNoto assumed the cause was something like a tire blowout. They saw first responders barreling down the highway but didn't realize there'd been a shooting until the friend鈥檚 dad called to check on them 90 minutes later.
鈥淲e were in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, and it was just like, what? Somebody was on an overpass shooting AR-15 at us?" DiNoto said.
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Associated Press reporters Tara Copp in Washington, Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.
Bruce Schreiner And Dylan Lovan, The Associated Press
