Kentucky highway shooting suspect vowed to 'kill a lot of people'

The suspect accused of opening fire on motorists along a major highway in south-eastern Kentucky sent a text message vowing to "kill a lot of people" shortly before the shooting, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports.

Authorities on Tuesday continued to search for the suspect, Joseph A Couch, 32, who was still on the run after allegedly opening fire on Interstate 75 and wounding five people.

He was charged on Monday with multiple counts of attempted murder and assault.

The text messages were revealed in an arrest affidavit from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, which detailed a call from a woman who reported receiving the messages from Mr Couch about 30 minutes before Saturday's attack.

"I'm going to kill a lot of people," he is quoted as writing in the messages. "Well (I'm going to) try at least."

The warrant - obtained by multiple US media outlets including CBS - notes that police attempted to track Mr Couch's mobile phone after the woman's report but were not able to determine a location until nearly 19:00 local time - about 90 minutes after the attack.

The warrant charged Mr Couch with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault.

In another text message, he allegedly wrote that he would take his own life after the attack, the affidavit says.

Rewards for information have now reached $25,000 (£19,000), with United Way offering $10,000, in addition to a $10,000 reward from an anonymous donor and a $5,000 one from a local anticrime group.

The ongoing manhunt forced schools to close in multiple counties as authorities combed through acres of thick wooded areas near the city of London, which has a population of about 8,000. The city is near the Daniel Boone National Forest.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, law enforcement officials told residents and would-be tourists in the area to "suspend your activities".

"Don't be riding ATVs. Don't be hiking. Give us some time to see if we can locate Mr Couch in this national forest," a Kentucky police spokesperson said.

"This is not a small area."

Police K-9 dogs, helicopters and drones have all been deployed to help locate Mr Couch, he said.

Many schools in the area remained closed on Tuesday with some switching to remote learning, the Associated Press reported, as the manhunt stretched into its fourth day.

Residents have been living on edge.

"We go home and lights go off, and we go upstairs and our doors stay locked," Brandi Campbell told the AP, describing her family's new routine since Saturday.

Police say they located Couch's silver Honda SUV on a hill with an elevated view of I-75 and found an AR rifle nearby.

Authorities detailed in the affidavit finding a green military duffel bag with additional ammunition and shell casings. "Couch" was emblazoned on the bag and the rifle, a Colt AR-15, was found with a sight mounted, according to CBS, the BBC's US news partner.

Police also found a phone they believe belongs to Mr Couch, but the battery had been removed.

The area where the items and Couch's vehicle was found is very remote, near a service road at the top of a hill. State police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington described the conditions as "walking in a jungle", with police carrying machetes to cut through thick brush.

"We have cliff beds. We have sinkholes. We have caves," he said Monday. "We have culverts that go under the interstate. We have creeks and rivers and the dense brush."

Hours before the shooting, Mr Couch legally bought the rifle and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, police said.

The shootings began at about 17:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Saturday. Police initially said nine vehicles were hit by gunfire along Interstate 75, a busy north-south route. They later increased that number to 12 cars.

Five people were wounded and some had "very serious" injuries, officials said, including one person who was shot in the face and another who was hit in the chest.

All were stable as of Sunday and expected to survive.

Randall Weddle, the mayor of London, Kentucky, said that some local businesses and churches were closed Sunday while the manhunt continued.

Authorities warned local residents to be vigilant while the suspect is still at large.

“You need to lock your doors,” Kentucky State Police spokesperson Scottie Pennington said Sunday. “If you have security cameras, make sure you’re constantly watching them, maybe keep your porch lights on.”

Officials said the search is going slowly in the densely forested region. The hunt was suspended after dark on Sunday night, but officers remained in a wooded area near exit 49 on I-75 in an attempt to contain the suspect.

"That's probably one of the most remote exits on I-75," Deputy Gilbert Acciardo of the Lauren County Sheriff’s Office told reporters during a news briefing. "It's a big task.”

Mr Acciardo described the scene as a "madhouse" when first responders arrived.

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

Police said they have not yet determined a motive for the shooting, but they have characterised it as a random attack rather than a targeted one. Mr Couch previously served in the National Guard, according to police.

An Army spokesperson said Mr Couch served in the Army Reserve for roughly six years, from March 2013 to January 2019, as a combat engineer, but was never deployed.

Speaking to CNN, Christina DiNoto, who was driving on 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".