Kentucky: Manhunt under way after cars shot at on US highway

A manhunt continues for a second day in the US state of Kentucky after a number of people were shot on a highway near the city of London on Saturday.

Police believe the attacker is somewhere in a remote and rugged area about 9 miles (14km) from the city of London in south-eastern Kentucky, authorities said on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities have named Joseph A Couch, 32, from Woodbine in Kentucky, as a person of interest and say he is considered armed and dangerous.

The incident began at about 17:30 local time (21:30 GMT). Police arrived and found nine vehicles had been shot into, near Interstate 75.

Officers say shots were fired into vehicles travelling in both directions along the highway.

The I–75 was closed for several hours because of the danger to passing cars.

Five people were shot and some maintained “very serious” injuries, officials said, including one person who was shot in the face.

All were in stable condition as of Sunday morning.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s office is coordinating a ground search, and authorities were using a drone to assist.

Officials said the woods in the area are thick and the search is slow-going.

“That’s probably one of the most remote exits on I-75,” Deputy Gilbert Acciardo of the Lauren County Sheriff’s office said during a Sunday afternoon briefing.

“It’s a big task. We want to get him before it gets dark again.”

Police found an assault-style firearm in the area on Sunday they believe was used by the gunman.

Mr Couch’s vehicle, a small silver SUV, was also found on Saturday night. There was a gun case inside but no weapon, according to officials.

According to local media, shots may have been fired from a wooded area near to the highway, or from an overpass.

Authorities had rushed to lock down the scene when they first arrived Saturday evening, Mr Acciardo said earlier on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

“When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse,” he said.

“People on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot,” he said. “Can you imagine that? Just chaotic.”

Police said they have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.

London, Kentucky’s mayor, Randall Weddle, asked residents to be cautious and “keep your doors locked”, but said they were in no immediate danger.

“If you’re out and about, just be vigilant,” he said in a social media video posted on Saturday night.

The town of London, near the site of the highway shootings, has about 8,000 residents and is near the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Mr Weddle on Saturday night described the search area as having “rugged terrain”.

Speaking to CNN, Christina DiNoto, who was driving on the I-75 with a friend at the time of the shooting, said “it was like a rock went through my back window”, hurting her ear.

“We looked at each other and we were like, ‘Was that a gunshot?’ And then we’re like, ‘No, that wasn’t a gunshot.'”

She said it was only an hour and a half later they learnt that there had been a shooting.

Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear wrote on social media that the area should be avoided, and urged the public to “pray for everyone involved”.