Kentucky highway gunman’s ‘chilling text before rampage’ as he remains on the run for a third day

An Army vet accused of opening fire on a Kentucky highway sent a chilling text message vowing to ‘kill a lot of people’ before he allegedly went on a shooting rampage that left five injured.

Joseph Couch, 32, sent a cryptic warning message to a woman, believed to be his ex-wife, less than 30 minutes before he fired gunshots from an AR-15 at vehicles travelling along Interstate 75 on Saturday night, an arrest warrant claimed.

‘I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least,’ Couch wrote in the text message, according to the warrant affidavit filed in court. In a separate text message, he said, ‘I’ll kill myself afterwards,’ the affidavit stated.

The affidavit does not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman who received the texts, but The Lexington Herald-Leader has identified the woman involved as his ex-wife. She called 911 after receiving the messages and was later interviewed by police. 

Couch, who authorities say is ‘armed and dangerous’, has been on the run since he carried out the attack on Saturday, police say. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, charging him with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault.

Laurel County Dispatch received a call from a woman who told them Couch texted her Saturday night, warning: ‘I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least.’ Pictured are drivers parked along I-75 after the shooting

Laurel County Dispatch received a call from a woman who told them Couch had sent her the text messages at 5.03pm on Saturday, the affidavit, written by Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, says.

Authorities received the first report of the shooting at around 5.30pm. 

In response to the woman’s 911 call, police initiated a tracker on Couch’s cellphone but the location wasn’t received until 6.53pm, the affidavit states, almost 90 minutes after the highway shooting.

The affidavit charges Couch with five counts each of criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault.

More charges, including criminal mischief and wanton endangerment, may be added in the future, Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele told WKYT. 

Authorities allege that Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate Saturday near London, a small city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles south of Lexington.

Searchers have been combing thousands of acres in the rugged, hilly area in a bid to find Couch, who is believed to be hiding in the woods.

Kentucky State Police announced a $5,000 reward on Monday for information that leads to his arrest. A private donor has also offered a $10,000 reward, according to authorities. 

Couch, (pictured) who authorities say is ‘armed and dangerous’, has been on the run since he carried out the attack on Saturday, police say. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, charging him with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault

Authorities allege that Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate Saturday near London , a small city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles south of Lexington. An image shared to social media purportedly from the incident shows a vehicle’s back window smashed after it was struck by a bullet

The freeway was filled with motorists when the gunman opened fire on Saturday night. Five people were hit, though none were fatally struck by the bullets

Couch remains at large and the public are advised not to engage if they see him. They are instead instructed to contact police.

He is described as a white male, approximately 5’10, 154lbs, and was reportedly arrested last month on charges of making terroristic threats, but was out on a $1,000 bond. According to his social media profiles, Couch is a US Army veteran.  

The suspect most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles south of the shooting scene. 

On Sunday, law enforcement officers searched an area near where Couch’s 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 ‘Couch’ hand-written in black marker.

An employee of a gun store in London, Center Target Firearms, informed authorities that Couch purchased an AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition hours before the shooting, the affidavit said.

Joe Arnold, the gun store’s manager, declined to comment Monday. He said he did not want to interfere with the investigation, but added: ‘We’d love for him to be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’

Cops recovered what they confirmed to be Couch’s Toyota, after describing his shooting as ‘sniper-like’ and not the result of road rage

On Sunday, law enforcement officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found

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 north of London. 

He described the extensive search area as ‘walking in a jungle’ with machetes needed to cut through thickets.

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

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.

‘We’re not going to quit until we do lay hands on him,’ Laurel County Sheriff John Root said.

Rebecca Puryear, who was shot across her chest in her right arm during Saturday night’s rampage, told the Lexington Herald-Leader she’s thankful to be alive. She was with her husband and 4-year-old son coming home after a meal at Olive Garden.

Another bullet burst into fragments upon hitting the door of her Toyota Camry, injuring her left arm, too.

‘I looked at my husband and said, “What was that?” He said it was gunshots. I said, “Oh my God!”‘ Puryear, 28, told the newspaper.

Kentucky State Police announced a $5,000 reward on Monday for information that leads to Joseph Couch’s arrest. A private donor has also offered a $10,000 reward, according to authorities

She was ‘gushing blood,’ but her husband urged her to keep driving. She pulled over a mile up the road and her husband told her to take off her shirt and press it to the wound while he called 911.

Puryear is out of the hospital but will have to have surgery at a later date.

‘This man was out to kill, and he almost did,’ Puryear said, adding: ‘In a blink of an eye you could not be here. I don’t want nobody else’s family to go through this.’

Meanwhile, area school districts were shut down Monday across a wide swath of southeastern Kentucky as the search for Couch stretched into a third day.

Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles from the shooting scene agreed with the decision to close schools.

‘I’d be afraid he’d try to hijack the bus and take the kids as hostages,’ said Hess, who has a first grader and a preschooler.

‘I’m worried about everybody because they don’t know where he’s at…We don’t know what he’s capable of right now.’ 

Christina DiNoto, who witnessed the shooting while driving, said Monday the search weighs heavily on her mind.

‘To know that he’s still at large – that makes me nervous, honestly,’ DiNoto said.

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer Master Seargeant Scottie Pennington addresses the media on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 to give an update on the efforts to find the suspect in the shooting at I-75

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Stansbury gives an update at the London Community Center in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, on the efforts to find the suspect in the Saturday shooting at Interstate 75 near Livingston

Kentucky has few regulations on purchasing guns and carrying them in public. The state’s gun laws ‘are among the worst in the country’ according to a report by Everytown For Gun Safety, a gun safety nonprofit group.

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.

Authorities in Kentucky said Monday that Couch was in the Army Reserve and not the National Guard, as officials initially indicated. 

The US Army said in a statement that Couch served from 2013 to 2019 as a combat engineer. He was a private when he left and had no deployments.

Pennington said Monday that military experience doesn’t make Couch a trained survivalist, while the plan is to wear Couch down.

‘How long can you really survive?’ Pennington said. ‘We hope he just walks out.’