ACTIVE SHOOTING. London Kentucky. MANHUNT. Joseph Couch. LIVE.

and we are live jlr investigates come on in everyone day four of the massive Manhunt for Joseph couch continues he has not been caught he is still out there on the loose he's somewhere out there folks come on in uh they actually upped the reward now the reward now is $225,000 where is he Laurel County South Eastern Kentucky area come on in we've been covering this case each day want to give you some updates on this case couple news reports out plus I have a video of the terrain of that area um where they are looking for him it appears the military is also involved with uh this search the US Army has been sending Choppers from Frankfurt Kentucky into the area the London Kentucky area um and I believe that they continue to bring reinforcements into the area there to search for this 32ye old man that is considered armed and dangerous so we're here today folks I see a lot of people in the chat already um as you see the screen here no Choppers right now I've been looking at the you know this for the last hour seeing if they've been doing any type of Choppers at a particular area looking for this guy and uh nothing yet nothing yet as far as um you know them pinpointing this guy they believe he's out there uh the question is you now we're day four now we're day four the question is folks is he alive or dead uh we should put a poll up um and try to you know ask you guys your opinion you think he's out there alive and how long how much longer should they look for this guy um and you know it looks like they're GNA try to find him whether he's dead or alive and find his body um because the you know he pretty much the area is pretty much paralyzed London Kentucky is paralyzed schools are out again today schools are out again today so schools are out we have a $25,000 reward all that reward 5,000 comes from the Kentucky State Police 10,000 comes from a private donor and 10,000 comes from the United Way of Laurel County United Way stepped up so that's a new update it it went up originally from 5,000 to 15,000 now we have a $25,000 reward where is Joseph couch not a peep from his mother maybe they'll give an update today maybe they'll give a um uh some sort of uh press conference again today yesterday they had a press conference at 3 p.m. and um but other than that I saw it all quiet last night nothing to uh report about sightings we still haven't heard of any sightings whatsoever from this guy but there is a news clip I want to share because there is a witness there was a witness there's a witness who told the media they saw him after the shooting and we're gonna play that uh we're gonna play this news clip here this is coming from one of the local news channels there and they do whole report they talk about what's going on apparently they got some reporters on the ground now but they talk about they interview a witness who saw the shooter and apparently he didn't have a shirt on and his hat backwards if this is the guy which is very strange to me but we're gonna play this um 12 minute clip here I see a lot of people coming in now check this out right here we're gonna play this and listen to this guy because he claims he saw the shooter after the shooting occurred so we're going to run with this one right here go ahead Magnolia news now this is WKYT News sh different ones of us are here shot frantic calls from drivers on I75 in Lao County someone just shot at us uh I have a hole through my door five people hit by bullets flying at them from a Cliffside our priority is the saf to everyone involved we are committed to make sure that there is no harm to anybody in in the community and also to our First Responders on the ground an urgent Manhunt now in its Third Day forcing investigators into rugged terrain our goal is to apply steady pressure and wearing Mr couch down tonight the question from concerned Kian where is Joseph couch WKYT has live breaking news team coverage right now our crews are hearing from law enforcement members of the community and investig ators hoping to bring the suspect Joseph couch into custody the 32-year-old is approximately 510 weighs about 154s and a $115,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to his arrest good evening I'm Bill Bryant in studio for WKYT News at 6 joined Now by Amber Philpot live in Laurel County this evening Amber we have a lot of ground to cover tonight Bill good evening to you and that we certainly do this Manhunt began Saturday night and it continues here on this Monday night there are multiple agencies with boots on the ground as we speak both in the air and on the ground the terrain that they are searching it is unforgiving it is tough Forest land this we're talking about part of the Daniel Boone National Forest again as I said it is unforgiving and so State Police says if Joseph couch is in there they say they want him to walk out of those woods and they want him to turn himself in and they say until he does that or he is caught they won't stop when we're looking for somebody we have to go through those dense areas we have we have to go and make sure no rock is unturned to find not just him but find evidence and when you do these things with all the people involved you got to have communication we are talking about KSP the Laurel County Sheriff's Office London Police the FBI the ATF they are all here in the London Laurel County area searching for Joseph couch they have to be exhausted at this point but what we heard today in that news conference is that they absolutely will not stop today we learned a lot of new information including learning about the moments that those shots first rang out on Interstate 75 uh this past weekend from those drivers we are here hearing the chilling 911 calls those are newly released 911 calls made from the interstate from the victims themselves and what they experienced multiple cars were hit we know that five people were injured wkyt's Phil Pendleton spent most of the day going through these calls and listening to just how frightened all of these folks were in those moments that those shots rang out Phil Amber we'll get to those calls in just a second but just about an hour and a half ago I had an opportunity to talk to a man who claims that he saw Joseph couch in the moments after that shooting as we are very close to the interstate right here just the intersection of 909 and 105 25 he says that he saw Joseph couch coming toward him and he says the fact that he was armed and he claims couch was not is what saved his life black SUV white male guy out of it no shirt on red hat on backwards blue jeans comes running through the intersection right into the lot where we're at behind my trailer from there he says the man took off into the woods he says shortly after that police flooded the area had I not broke a brake line we would have been on the interstate as he was shooting yes the 49 AC going towards Lexing I just got shot at off the the uh South Mount side people called 911 when their cars and trucks were shot and some were telling them of injured passengers or of other drivers he's ding Blood Bad okay and is she on the interstate with you yeah 49 okay 49 on theth side here sheing I'm try something stop this bleeding we just called we were a mile marker 49 but we had to move up a mile they're still shooting at they just tried shooting at a motorcycle guy and that last caller was very late in the the time that we got the calls and at at first they believe that the shooting was over but apparently it was not as she claimed that there was a guy on a motorcycle and shots rang out again as the danger obviously was not over despite all of that chaos taking place dispatchers told drivers they needed to stay put to shelter in place to hang tight cuz help was on its way but for them obviously in those moments it was like time was standing still live in Laurel County Phil Pendleton Amber back to you Phil thank you and certainly unbelievable to think about in those moments that you're just simply driving up the interstate going wherever you're going and you're in the middle of this type of mass shooting so this Manhunt is affecting a lot of different people at this hour as a precaution a number of schools were closed today due to the safety concern of this Manhunt in the last half of an hour we learned that Laurel County Public Schools announced that classes will be cancelled again tomorrow we know that Lincoln County Schools say that they'll be back open tomorrow with added security measures uh and we're still waiting to hear from some of those other districts about what they're going to do tomorrow both of them and all of these districts really uh emphasizing the safety of their students and their staff we have had folks on the ground all day long we will continue to have folks here uh tonight wkyt's Jeremy Toms is joining us now live from here in London and Jeremy what are you seeing at this hour here in [Music] London yeah Amber you might be able to see behind me that Main Street in London remains quite busy as the work day comes to an end and people get where they need to go but you'll notice that the sidewalks here are quiet and the storefronts are closed people heeding those warnings tonight from police to stay put and stay vigilant but as nightfalls for a third time since the mass shooting that happened out on the interstate just about 10 Mi north of here attention will have to start turning towards what tomorrow will bring for nearby communities fear and tension continue to grip this community as the man hunt goes on several area school districts closed as a result of their efforts that includes here in Laurel as well as Lesley Jackson Rockcastle clay Lincoln Knox and Whitley counties as well as East bernstad and Corbin independent some all some others also went virtual Trooper Scotty Pennington said during today's presser that while law enforcement is in communication with those schools it's ultimately up to each district to decide how to move forward some schools have made that decis decision Amber you mentioned just within the past half hour we learned Laurel County Schools will be closed for a second straight day as will the Knox County Campus of South East Kentucky Community and Technical College but several other districts have held off on making a decision as as they presumably wait for any of the latest developments in this ongoing case but in the court of public opinion there is only one way to proceed it's by continuing to put Safety First many locals commenting on school social media Pages saying something to the effect of if there's going to be school tomorrow my son or daughter grandson or granddaughter will not be going so a lot of anxiety a lot of tension still as they watch wait and hope for a quick resolution to this but but until then they want to put that safety at the Forefront of everyone's Minds especially when their kids are involved so we'll continue to bring the latest on school openings school closings anything that has to do with what's going on here in these communities as they continue to deal with this ongoing situation but for now live in Laurel County I'm Jeremy Toms I'll send it back to you Jeremy thank you and of course we can all understand the anxiety that must be felt by these parents and also Alyssa Williams today talking to a lot of people just saying it's the fear of the unknown and we certainly understand that since all of this happened law enforcement agencies they have been trying to answer our questions about what may let what may have led up to this violence and many of those questions had to do with how and where Joseph couch got the gun and ammunition they say was used in the attack wkyt's Jessica Umbro explains kuy's current uh laws surrounding gun ownership and she has some of the disturbing text that couch allegedly sent just moments before the shooting he obtained a firearm at a uh at a uh local place here in London but it was obtained you know legally he went through the ATF he went through all the proper paperwork we have that paperwork copies of the receipts uh but that was obtained you know like you know if you're not a felon or something you know if you can go in you can fill the paperwork anyone can purchased the gun law enforcement confirmed Sunday evening that the gun they say Joseph couch used in the shooting on I75 was purchased the same day as the shooting Kentucky state law currently does not have a waiting period which is the time between when a gun is purchased and when a gun is given to that buyer 10 states in Washington DC have waiting period spanning from 3 to 14 days what law enforcement says they can't explain is what was going on in Couch's mind when he bought the gun I don't know why anybody would go up there and start shooting people I don't I can't get in somebody's brain of why they do something this this crazy um but it's an act of violence and you know innocent people have got hurt one text message from the day of the shooting in Couch's affidavit provides a glimpse reading quotes I'm going to kill a lot of people well try at least another message said quote I'll kill myself afterwards state senator Brandon storm who represents Laurel County provided WKYT with a statement saying in par quote this is a resilient and United Community and we are in pain after after this senseless tragedy right now I along with other community leaders remain focused on caring for my community members impacted while our very capable law enforcement professionals search for the suspect Jessica Umbro WKYT and of course night will soon fall here in London and Laurel County Today KSP in their news conference called this a methodical effort working to try and wear Joseph couch down it is an exhausting search but one that they are not letting up until Joseph couch is found and again State Police are urging people here if you are listening to us to stay vigilant at this hour to make sure that you are checking on your neighbors to make sure that they are okay and that if you see something call it in you won't be a birden to them they want to know but they also want you to know that this is in their hands do not try to take anything into your hands despite that um $155,000 reward being out there they say let them handle this but again Bill we certainly know that this is wearing this is trying on people as they're trying to go about their daily lives but also just worried here about how this will come to an end and that they want this to come to an end very soon for now that is the story here in London back to you yeah very very dis back I'm going bring Magnolia up in the chat we're talk about that a minute did you hear that witness or something claim that a black SUV went up to uh 909 and 25 and a guy got out and ran into the woods I think that person is mistaking someone else what do you think Magnolia what did you hear there yeah I don't think it was him I don't think it was the shooter um somebody else pointed out that the shooter was not even on the interstat so they this witness said they saw a black SUV on the Interstate um but we know that the shooter was not on the interstate he was on that Cliff up above yeah right off of Exit 49 um he also didn't have a black SUV he had a car that's what I'm saying they retrieved the car so but then I mean why would they even why would the news even put somebody on like that to kind of just shake people up and make people think oh is it somebody else without a shirt and a hat backwards yeah I I I think that is weird too that they would put that person on but I mean he's telling his story I I guess so they want to give him a chance to tell his story as a witness but um I don't think that detail was very helpful since he had a light colored car not a black SUV and we know that so yeah um so what else is new on this Magnolia um I know that you sent me something and maybe we should put this up um and you know this is good I mean about these encrypted communication channels now because Harford County Maryland is doing this now because of they don't want the public to know what's going on and the police like scanner wise and and and maybe that will you know other counties will start doing this possibly about you know hiding their communication and hiding what they're what what they're going to do what what what is this all about Magnolia yeah I I saw this I follow Hartford County um since I've been following them but um I actually saw this pop up this morning and I thought it's interesting because we're doing a lot of scanner listening these days and they put out a message specifically about their Communications in Hartford County they said uh this is just less than an hour ago they posted this they said every earlier today law enforcement across Hartford County transition to encrypted Communications channels um they say every day information crosses the airwaves Li discussing information as it pertains to juveniles medical history victim information personally identifiable information and evidence collection encryption is required to comply with the FBI's criminal justice Information Services security policy this policy mandates that all criminal justice information including biometric data identity history data biographic data information Property Data records and case incident history must be protected with endtoend encryption such as over radio Airwaves with the adoption of encrypted channels we can Safeguard your personal information more effectively so yeah I just think this is interesting and then they site two examples um they cite the japat toown high school shooting they say critical incidents unfold rapidly leaving little time for channel switching it's imperative that we find a solution that ensures individual rights and investigative Integrity um they mention a Time 2023 when there was a barricade situation and the scanner app had over 20,000 listeners many listeners avidly shared real-time updates on social media platforms unwittingly endangering the safety of our Special Response Team similarly when detectives made the tragic discovery of Rachel moren's murdered body on the mpaw trail the details of the crime scene were quickly relayed from the radio to social media the premature release of this information not only jeopardized the Integrity of the investigation but also subjected Rachel's family and friends to distressing online comment content um they say this is not a decision made lightly we recognize our community has become accustomed to following along we appreciate their support and understand their desire to be kept AR priz of crimes occurring in their community so I mean I think this is kind of of a big deal I do too because I think other law enforcement's probably gonna file suit right like follow what they're doing yeah I mean often we see um different towns and counties and different things sort of follow suit with each other it takes one and then they start following along um I just yeah I I don't know what I think about this this is very interesting um somebody said keep grinding up said back in the day in some states to even have a police scanner was a crime now every Jack ball with a smartphone can horn horn in I think encrypted is the answer so yeah I mean lots of people had I've always known throughout my life people who have those scanners in their houses you know and they just sit there and listen to the police scanner all day um and then yeah the app came along I don't know when it came along but I know I've been using the police scanner app for over 10 years so because I used to always listen to the one time me and my brother discovered the Cook County Illinois police scanner that covers Chicago and we went through the phase where we were listening to it every single day um so I mean it's been around for a really long time yeah Magnolia take it take us back to the flight radar because we got a a state police Chopper in the sky right in the area again back up see what it's up to uh Chopper back up in the sky uh but yeah they they they're they're getting rid of the the the scanner they don't want people to listen in and see exactly uh what they're doing I guess their tactics plus they're worried about personal identifying information being relayed to the public oh thing went away um it actually vanished right at that uh once again that um Lake there well there's another Chopper there I see yeah there's another one I see it it's back up there it should be right there yeah that's a Kentucky State Police Chopper and uh notice it's right below Exit 49 if we want to zoom it in a little bit it's right interesting where it's at right now like this is literally like right by Exit 49 yeah I think this is the one that someone mentioned the other night is equipped with thermal technology or something like that 421 SP yeah um this is I haven't really seen a lot of activity this morning but there's I mean it's showing they're still out there looking looking for this guy um and they vow to find him I guess you could say dead or alive so yeah $25,000 reward out now and they're including private donors uh United Way stepped in with 10,000 I think that's a big deal you know uh maybe it will keep expanding as the days go on uh what do you think you think the Laura County schools are gonna have school you think they're gonna have school tomorrow they don't have it today if he's not found yeah if they've already canceled it for today um and he's not found I would imagine they'll cancel again tomorrow so I mean I'm sure that they can handle school closing for a few days but it can't go on forever eventually they're going to have to reopen schools I'd say they could give it a week and then if he's still not found they would have to resume their classes I mean right what just close school indefinitely can you put a law enforcement at the at the school like a like each school has a law enforcement Deputy yeah somebody else somebody in the chat earlier I lost the name now um made a good point that I happen to agree with um she was saying she thinks that the county their um the local law enforcement and stuff that they sort of got off on the wrong foot in the first place with this because they pretty much right away started using helicopters and she said that they should have done more ground at efforts like more Troopers more whatever and dogs they should have gone into the woods with the dogs and troopers on the ground at first to find him but instead they seem to pretty I'm sure there were some who went into the woods but they pretty much right away went to helicopters to search for him you know like the helicopters were up in there up in the sky so quickly yeah Linda L says that's why he got away um yeah because I think that if they now they didn't know to be fair they didn't know exactly what was happening when they got to the scene I'm sure um it sounded like it was complete mayhem out there there was just cars everywhere bullet holes and windshields victims I mean I'm sure it was a mad house but you'd think if someone was shooting onto the Interstate you would have at least a few Witnesses who could say it came from that direction up there and they could go up there and look and you know bring in every dog you can find right off the bat yeah lesli said dogs first yeah so the dogs I guess you know if they had brought the dogs in right away they may have already found them but I personally don't have much confidence that they're going to find him to be honest I really don't I I will be genuinely shocked if they find him well that would mean he he he got out of the area or is he dead out there what do you mean by you think he's dead out there well I think if he went into one of those caves or caverns and took his own life then they may never find him now if he's alive and running through the woods maybe so but I don't know I don't have I just don't really have a good feeling about it see in that particular area just Northwest of where the shooting occurred is a place called Fire Glow Forest River Riverside cabin rentals on Rock Castle River and there's a bunch of Camp it's a campsite and stuff along there and I'm just wondering if he shot up that way the the what I'm thinking here is he must that I mean if he's tell saying texting that he's going to off himself when he's done he must have a game plan here to know where to go uhuh was gonna do this you know and uh the question is has he frequent the woods often there and knows these different areas um has he been there before like in that particular area because why would he choose Exit 49 when he lives quite farther south like why there yeah well I think you know that witness that said he saw someone running into the woods um I think that that could have actually been like a vigilante or like a citizen who was trying to run after the person not actually the shooter but someone who saw the saw and heard the shots and tried to run run after him themselves Maybe there's a Down by London there's a are you looking at the London one that s Cessna that's up in the sky Skyhawk what do you got there yeah you got that yeah you got that one right yeah that's an interesting one because it started to the South and then now it worked up to London it's kind of just like scouring over the sky I wonder if that's just a private citizen trying to look for this guy you see this plane right here M it's very strange it's course here yeah where did they where did they start out at they started out to the south towards the Tennessee Border they started out South uh of wolf Ward it's kind of making like a like Williamsburg Whitley County airport is where they started but now it just circled up to London now it's just spinning around a little bit like what what is this what is this person doing because you know as the reward goes up you get more people like locals there that might be more inclined to say hey I'm coming out with the pickup trucks and their own whatever they have maybe even private planes and going around trying to find the guy or see if they see this guy walking around somewhere I mean $2,000 reward reward is pretty big for people out there you know I would think you know I would any rewards big anywhere but 25k is now you're pushing up a little bit where somebody's like hey I'll spend the day trying to find them yeah Chris mclin in our chat said this plane was up in the area yesterday too okay so maybe it's um like you said it's it's citizens who want to help well you know like we discussed yesterday the the suspect lives a little bit down south there South in in what what town was it was it wood Bine where he lives yeah so I mean most people think not most people but people think that this guy could have is on his way back down to where he lives which is 20 something miles to the south of the crime scene yeah I wonder what this uh plane is um doing we got a video also we're gonna show in a minute um murky piglet says Le departments have special encrypted channel for priority swap use if worried and I agree about suspects listening however it is not streamers YouTubers causing it suspects listen to scanners themselves thank you for the comment yeah that's a I mean that's in in a situation like this where there's a Manhunt yeah I can definitely see the suspects using the scanner to evade police because they know where they're at yeah um especially like you know I would just say with this guy like uh you know this is a a former military guy I mean if he's prepared to be into the woods hunkered down you would think he would have a backpack on him and maybe a scanner on him or maybe some sort of encrypted or satellite phone on them or or or something you know if if but again I I'm I'm I don't know about these texts man these texts could be a total ruse as far as what he said he was going to do afterward could be a red herring just to throw law enforcement off to like basically is what I'm saying is you say you're shoot a bunch of people right there at the edge of the Daniel Boom forest and you say you're going to go and do something to yourself afterward but law enforcement sees that he might be thinking law enforcement is just going to think he's dead out there in the woods and it could be a ruse but why would he even discuss that he's going to do that anyway but that he's discussing it with the mother of one of his child children how often was he communicating and texting with this woman prior I mean they have they shared a child together were they on good standing bad standing good communication prior so you gotta try to get into this guy's mind a little bit and find out what he what what what's he trying to do here because they haven't shared anything about a motive here like why would you just Target random people on the road we still don't know like 30 m 30 miles away from his house 30 miles away though when you get like country like that you know a lot of places are Rural and they I guess the main town in there is London so 30 miles every way people work their way to London to do Commerce and shopping and everything like that mostly right no yeah maybe but why he would choose there like just but it wasn't even there it was north of there now miles I want to know his motive like what what what why just why why would you buy it a gun in the morning and instantly use that on innocent people that you know nothing like no one you don't know these like their vehicle you don't know like you know what I mean you're just like I'm gonna shoot at cars that's almost as juvenile as kids going on a bridge and throwing rocks on a bridge on cars you know mhm I mean why would you want it but to a whole different extreme why would you even do that but this this this flight here um now we have another video uh we could put it on mute but it shows a guy we found it right and it's a guy driving through the Daniel Doom forest and it shows the terrain and everything like that why don't we put it on and then mute it and then people could just see what we're looking at we we'll continue to talk but this is this is a video I found because I wanted to get an idea of what that forest and what that area looks like and this is it this is what law enforcement is dealing with folks I mean it's pretty it's pretty thick out there uh I don't know when this is taken but it looks like the leads are a little bit changing color but it it it shows the Creeks the the the cliffs the Rocks the terrain back there and this is this is exactly what law enforcement is dealing with being back there well it's they said that Daniel Boon Forest is like 700,000 Acres froggy said that fall is here with the leaves changing already up there yeah temperature um I think today was supposed to be in the low 80s it might get rain in the next couple days due the fact that A hurricane's coming up through yeah Friday Saturday Sunday Monday and Tuesday's forecast is rain you know hurricane Francine is on to the South I'm wonder I'm wondering if they get some of that rain now will that help or hinder this uh doesn't rain mess things up if they're trying to find a scent yeah but yeah this is this is uh this puts a lot into perspective here mean it's a needle to me it's like a needle in the hay stack I also did hear something about a railroad on the scanner a lot railroad railroad railroad I was hearing that for sure but I was also hearing about all these false sightings look the cliffs yeah there's all kinds of places there out there he can hide but yeah one of the reasons that they follow a lot of these fugitives follow along a river is because the water helps keep the dogs from being able to detect their scent so that's part of it also water supply look all these like uh jeeps mud Jeeps SN this guy needs well that their goal is to flush this guy or this the guy just eventually just not necessarily flush but just hope that he just pressure on them squeezes them and just forces them out like I Surrender four days need food need water are you alive are you alive that is the question I mean he's beautiful out there I was actually considering going up there but I I I still think the guy's going to get caught sooner or later I mean I don't know how long this could last for but you see like places like that cabins and everything like that the cabins make me think a little bit like is he like did he bust into someone's cabin he's just like in there well there's plenty of them out there right Joy Joy said he enjoying his hot chocolate somewhere why doesn't his mom just go out on the news and plead for his return well that's a good question isn't it or have them get one of their family his family members or maybe even his wife to his or I don't know I'm not saying throw his children into the mix but get somebody really close to him to to come out and please for his return yeah somebody else pointed that out earlier I think it was um burning Queen said that she said if his mom's not helping him then why doesn't she go on the news and beg for him to turn himself in no very good question no when they were doing cavicante the prison escaping Pennsylvania they were putting uh they were playing uh voices from his family to tell himself to surrender and they were playing it out of the Choppers the sky yeah telling him to surrender it was his family so get get get get get a chopper and start amplifying his family's voice out there and and and and just telling him and encourage him to turn himself in I mean it wouldn't hurt would it no but maybe his family doesn't want him to get caught or maybe he doesn't like his doesn't even like it and this is one of his things because he doesn't like the world or something because of his family yeah or they just don't want him to be found so um yeah I didn't get a get I didn't get a very good vibe off the mom the other night Michelle joined as a member thank you yeah we're just showing folks uh what the area looks like back there in the Daniel Boom Force um yeah there's these little cabins everywhere they're all over the place out there right dirt roads well people were saying in the chat they said in back of there there's just so many dirt roads full dirt areas I mean you really only can have like a fourwheeler to get back there or four-wheel drive Haley said there's a approximately 5,000 known caves in Kentucky and a bunch of those are out here Logging Road logging RS some people feel like he probably followed through with the threat what he said he was going to do to himself but do you believe him and you just take him at his word that's why I think this is going to be interesting the longer it goes because what do you do at this point I mean is every day the threat lesson if he's not found or no sign of him yeah maybe but notice the uh notice that witness said the description that they saw this guy but the law enforcement has not said any description at all what do you mean law enforcement has not describe anything what he's wearing correct oh as far as his clothes um yeah I don't remember if they have but uh just about his his height and weight we know he's very skinny he's only 150 pounds and wasn't he like five how tall is he 510 yeah 50 pounds so he's very thin we know that Needle on the hay stack out there my friends for sure might be a long long road ahead taxpayers paying for his search 63 degrees right now in London Kentucky with a high of 82 today Sun 84 tomorrow low 61 75 on Thursday low 64 and then Friday Saturday Sunday Monday and Tuesday rain in the upper 70s so what are they going to do man hunt continues for Joseph couch Kentucky man accused of the I75 shooting rampage Manhunt continued on Tuesday for Joseph couch used of enduring five people multiple counties in the area hunkered down and schools remain closed the mid warnings from official to keep watch or the suspect on the loose authorities believe couches contained to a wooded area near I75 there are combing areas nearby the Daniel Boon National Forest Law enfor Enforcement aims to apply steady pressure at wearing Mr couch down hopefully he has no water or nothing to eats authorities have deployed helicopters and drones to circle the area and train canines to search the woods hopefully he will basically just walk out of the woods and give himself up schools in nearby Laura County remained closed for a second day out of an abundance of caution London mayor Randall what's his name wle urged residents of the town of around 7500 to stay calm and stand together while one person's actions may speak to instill fear they will not alter our spirit together we will heal rebuild and emerge stronger than ever there is now a $25,000 reward out or information leading to couches rest notice they say information leading to couches of rest but what about if he doesn't get arrested and he's dead do you still get the 25k sometimes words matter in these rewards when they there's there's uh there was a catch sometimes to things you know yeah because we've heard where people get stiff didn't get the reward and like our friend the cops right to the people Jam sson our friend from uh our friend from uh Indiana Casey white and Vicky white he's the one that saw Casey at the car wash and that's what them to be arrested and he didn't even get a dime a penny for a reward from anyone I I think I think someone gave him like a plaque haing well I think that what it was was the I think members of the that what was her name Connie Ridgeway family had sort of um organized something where he they raised money for him and gave him a plaque but he did not get the reward which he should have been entitled to at my belief based off then not knowing where he was until he gave him the tip about the car in the car wash yeah sometimes you uh you know $25,000 reward leading up to his arrest so that gives you kind of like a look at the um look at the um we'll put the flight radar back up on the terrain there I think there's another um clip here magnol with another local news report from the I don't um so nothing nothing in the sky I see going on and I do not know if they will be giving out a press conference today either you hear anything about a press conference coming up today no I'm looking at the Laurel County's uh Facebook page and I don't see anything so where is this Joseph couch at I make grueling at Manhunt cons continues this morning happening in Kentucky authorities there are searching for a man who they say randomly shotted vehicles on a freeway leaving at least seven people injured Hannah flood joins us now from the live center with where this all stands good morning morning good morning yeah scary situation you can understand why authorities are taking this so seriously this is the third straight day of this man hunt in Kentucky and authorities say they're committed to finding this man even if it takes several more days police say they already found this man's SUV and an AR-15 they believe he used in this shooting they also know his name police say they're looking for 32-year-old Joseph couch they say he was randomly shooting at cars here on this treeter freeway they describe him as 510 145 pounds someone who is armed and dangerous they say he shot 12 Vehicles Saturday night on Interstate 75 just north of London Kentucky that's a small town about 75 miles south of Lexington at least seven people were injured including five people who suffered gunshot wounds so now police are looking for him this man in a thickly wooded area near where they found his car but they say so far the search has been challenging the area it's so remote if if he planned this uh it's so that's probably one of the most remote exits along I75 uh it's so there's no there's one business there's no residences uh he couldn't have pick an area that is any more remote and difficult for us to try to locate him multiple law enforcement agencies are helping out with this search including the FBI and the US Marshall's office with the gunman still on the run this morning many school districts have actually cancelled classes today and authorities are urging people to lock their doors watch their security CER until this man is found Tom and Kelly will of course keep you updated as we learn more this morning [Music] yeah so that came from an article we just played here oh take us back to flight radar well what's that say um about the local schools being closed just what they were saying in the report so some people are still unaware about his military service um there was fake news going around at first that he was a National Guard but he's in the Army Reserves he spent six years he was an engineer what was it called I have to look it up his his title in the engineer in the Army was like engineer something and basically his train is specifically in what he's doing right now evading police in the woods yeah I might be able to get that give me one second see oh yeah we shared it yesterday now here's a here's an interesting thing I don't know if we knew this before the the actual store where he bought the gun oh what is it he bought the gun at a store in London called Center Target firearms and he purchased an AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition before the shooting the store's manager declined to comment so that is also another piece of information that was wrong it was first reported that he bought 2,000 rounds but they said that it's 1,000 rounds a they might even have a YouTube channel they got a Tik Tok Channel who Central Target Firearms oh oh they got a YouTube and a Tik Tok Channel interesting um Central Target Firearms located on Don's Drive in uh London Kentucky huh wasn't that interesting I'll throw back up the flight radar we'll monitor this and see what's going on um there's also another report um I sent you Magnolia that just came out too we want to get all the available information out as we I know a lot of people in the chat are I I think a lot of people in the chat are actually from the area also monitoring Trooper Scotty Pennington who is the uh I guess the public affairs officer also monitoring his uh Facebook to see if they give any other type of update with developing news it's now day four in the search for a suspect accused of shooting multiple people on i7 5 in Laurel County authorities say 32-year-old Joseph couch allegedly shot five people in their vehicles on I75 near Exit 49 on Saturday before taking off into the woods authorities say he is considered to be armed and dangerous as the man hunt for him continues some school districts closed again for a second day as a precaution including Laurel County Public Schools and Rockcastle County schools now joining us live now is ABC 36 is Walker Simmons who is over in Laurel County Walker can you give us the latest details hey Doug Lisa well let's talk about the terrain where this is happening I'm in London right now here at the Laurel County Sheriff's Office but just Northbound on I75 is exit 41 that's where authorities say the suspect Joseph couch opened fire allegedly open fire on traffic in that area and then fled into the wood areas surrounding I75 now I have a picture here this is a map if you can see that red line that's I75 the arrow pointing to that red circle in the middle that's where exit 41 is that's where authorities say this happened everywhere else on this map all of the white surrounding that red line that is a wooded terrain with some Lakes as well as mountainous terrain and if you're just driving south or Northbound on I75 within this area you can see how difficult this terrain is there's a lot of rocky hills and forests surrounding the area not to mention Kentucky State Police making a post on social media showing aerial footage of that area and how vast that wooded and Rocky terrain is that's the area they're searching so we were talking about this search effort as we're heading into day four now and just the difficulties of this terrain for those authorities in First Responders that's why we're seeing Kentucky State Police along with Laurel County Sheriff's Office and multiple other agencies work and aiding in this Manhunt and we're here live in Laurel County all day following along with First Responders as they continue this we're going to continue to bring you the latest updates both on air and online at wtvq.com but for now live in London Walker Simmons ABC 36 news now all right yeah so uh put it back up to flight radar uh so you got a couple media Outlets there it seems like they're using the Laurel County Sheriff's Office as a staging ground Kevin phell says it's frustrating for me because they have his military records and know his training and still believe he is in that area either they are gaslighting us or they are just really clueless thank you for the comment Kevin uh he does have he does We read about his training as far as his uh his occupation in the military it was what an engineer right an engineer I'm trying to find what that job entails um but it's more about this type of training and he was a he was a combat engineer for six years 2013 to 2019 he was a private at the end of his service he had no deployments um so it sounds like he spent most of his time as a combat engineer he was doing training um and didn't they say that he also instructed some of the training that's what I read something we read his we read it yesterday um I'm trying to find the source of that yeah let's see Army Reserves I mean the media is still reporting about this which is good so this is what they do so um they do explosive demolition Bridge construction mine clearance small boat handling establishing Water Supplies they shape the battlefield destroying obstacles and opening routes for troop movement so he learned a lot of skills that directly apply to his current situation yeah nothing nothing on the radar here and do we see anything else that um no the scanner is not popping like there's nothing really popping on the scanner like that on this um are they gonna find this guy today I mean that's the question they feel like they have him tined yeah so the CBS there's an updated CBS article um just kind of recapping some of the information and they said that authorities received the first report of the shooting around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and a woman had told them that couch sent her text messages at 5:00 p.m. so around 5:00 p.m is when he sent those text messages that he was going to kill a bunch of of people and himself then about 30 minutes later he started making firing shots onto the Interstate the police initiated a tracker on Couch's cell phone but the location was not received until 6:53 p.m. almost 90 minutes after the highway shooting so he had at least 90 minutes of lead time at what a three miles an hour so maybe four four miles away from that area if he was on foot yeah and they say that on Sunday law enforcement officer searched an area near where Couch's vehicle was found with a view of I75 there they found a green army style duffel bag ammunition and numerous spent shell casings 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 couch handwritten in black marker I just sent you a um article if we could go to that article on Magnolia it's talking about this witness that's claiming the black SUV this is what I want to talk about because they they just put this ABC13 just put this out just a few minutes ago and again it talks about and who did not want to be identified says he believe he saw Joseph couch moments right there that right there that part right there so it says a man who did not want to be identified says he believes he saw Joseph couch moments after multiple cars and trucks were shot on Interstate 75 he says a black SUV white white male got out of it no shirt on red hat on backwards blue jeans comes running through the intersection comes to the lot right here by my trailer the man says he had just left the wild cut ATV Park when the man ran past him and then escaped into the woods east of Exit 49 he says police flooded the area shortly afterwards now that's strange because that's on the other side of the interstate is this a is this guy legit or not well remember we were listening to the scanner that night and we got two very different descriptions of the suspect this was one of them the no shirt and then the other one was a blue shirt but why why would there why would a guy get out of an SUV and where's the black SUV at yeah I don't know um but it's it's weird because if you look at Wildcat off-road RV park it's on the east side of 75 not on the west side where the shooting occurred it's on the east side along I25 or uh along Highway 25 just down the street from 25 and 909 well these conflicting reports the first night are the reason people suspected a second shooter multiple Shooters at first they were giving different descriptions on the scanner and we heard it ourselves but the fact that two media Outlets is now putting this information out in the last few hours that's the that's the point I'm saying like it two media outlets in the last two few hours have been putting out about this man's description about a guy that came running out shirtless with with a hat backwards coming out of a black SUV MH I heard it on the scanner cuz we talked about yeah but why are they putting this out now again like right now through me out I don't know it's because that that I mean that could be a serious distraction or or these people could be looking the wrong direction it's just weird because I suppose I suppose it's possible that he could have been you know I guess we don't know how many vehicles Joseph couch has access to first of all so the car that they found I forget what kind it is but it's a light colored car like a sedan light colored they found that car I suppose it's possible that he put that car there in advance and then actually went to the crime scene in another vehicle like the SUV and then maybe used the light colored car as a distraction to throw them off I suppose that's possible well think about the think about the law enforcement that said in the last clip he's like you couldn't pick a more remote place along I75 than that right there and that was my question like why there either you're picking there because you're going to run in the woods and you feel like you're not going to be caught because it be be hard to get caught out of there because it's so densely remote or this could be a red herring and using that to make them think he's in that Woods where he's a total different direction right I wouldn't underestimate this guy because he served in the military and this is the type of work makes me feel like I I don't know I don't know what to think I I don't know the guy I mean but it's just weird it's very very weird I'm telling you the two news reports are out in the last few hours about this different description Laura Jones says it's his whole stomping grounds yeah yeah he might been out there hunting camping fishing what do you think here's a little bit more information about the the gun so he bought the AR-15 and a th000 rounds legally at a gun store that morning according to the affidavit couch paid 2,000 $914 for the AR-15 with a mount a site mounted on it and the ammo so he spent about $3,000 that morning for this gun and ammo could just do the ACT why a lot of money just to say you're gonna blow all your money to do that to then go shoot a bunch of people knowing that it's over your life is over at that point why don't he just buy $3,000 worth of drugs and just you know what I mean what why why didn't just use the $3,000 to buy drugs and do something in his own house by himself no I'm serious like why are you gonna spend $3,000 of your own money to then use the gun on and try to terrorize people only to say in a text that you're gonna end yourself why don't you just use that grand and get a bunch of drugs um I don't know that's a tough choice $3,000 for a gun or $3,000 for drugs I don't know I mean yeah um you're gonna if your intent is to off yourself then just off yourself and I'm not saying anyone should off theirself I'm just saying why do you got to drag other people involved that's what I don't understand about these you mean you mean use the drugs to kill himself that's yeah oh I don't think you need to spend $3,000 well whatever I don't understand these idiots out there that want to do harm on somebody and then just say they're gonna just do harm on themselves why why take other people down with your own misery I'm I'm I'm saying if people are struggling mentally we don't want anyone to do any self harm on themselves we never want that I'm just saying when these people have their mindset like they're going to end them M themselves but they want to take other people out before them is it's crazy it's not fair it's wrong like why do that you GNA do it just do it and just just you know what I mean I mean does he want to make a name for himself like I don't I don't get it yeah I think I think that's part of it um they like the notoriety the infamy but but yeah it's I just think $3,000 that's a lot of money that's a lot of money and that scope I was thinking when this first happened I was thinking he must have had a scope on it to be able to shoot down from that far and actually hit windshields and one one victim actually was shot in the face so he was pretty accurate with his firing so I'm not shocked that he had a scope on that right put the flyer up Magnolia um that FBI Louisville put out on him does show the vehicle the car but that that that is a question was the was the vehicle planted there yeah so this is the car now I guess that can be characterized as an SUV but it's not black what kind of car is this they said it I just wasn't paying attention because they have the vehicle you know what I mean but yeah I mean it looks like it's one of those midsize SUVs um but it's certainly not black no it's not black so what's this witness talking about who's this SUV with somebody running into the woods after the shooting happened what is that all about why does that keep circulating yeah it's weird they found stuff in his vehicle too I was just reading that a second ago that they found um some of the items they mentioned were actually in the vehicle so they found the vehicle the duffel bag the gun um what else battery charger phone the phone with no battery in it so he took the battery out that's battery what you do if you don't want to be tracked but he was a little late on that because they did track him so we had the battery in he had to have at first because they tracked his location at 6:53 PM about an hour and a half after the shots were fired so he had the phone on for a time and then took the battery out so you if you want to you don't so if you just turn your phone off uh it's believed that it can still be tracked potentially but if you take the battery out it won't be tracked so they found the phone the battery all those things but not him see it seems like they found everything but him and but they they insist they have them contained so they said nothing about they believe he escaped the area in another vehicle they believe that he he's contained yes other than that you see anything else um that's circulating right now on this guy uh no I I don't think so um and I haven't seen anything about a new press or press conference either yeah I don't either um so I guess I guess we'll s uh sign off and then come back on if something else breaks at least we gave everyone the most available update information that they have out there right now um we showed you the terrain we showed you the new reward the couple news reports um about this area but other than that there's nothing out the raate the flight Radars empty right now scanner nothing exciting on the scanner and uh they're still looking for [Music] them anything else you'd like to add Magnolia no oh let me do the poll let me finish the poll let me see what we got on the poll today I can report people believe less today that he's alive than they did yesterday oh slightly less yesterday it was 67% thought he was alive and hiding out and 32% thought dead of self harm so that's changed a little bit yeah we we'll keep monitoring this folks we'll we'll continue to uh come back on and share any new information uh as it comes along so uh you know we want to hope that he's found ASAP well we will continue to update everyone on this yeah all right folks we're signing off and um sub to the channel and uh we'll be back if anything breaks have a good day everyone jlr investigates we'll