Shootings in Kentucky and Washington increase violence on highways and make drivers nervous

Two mass shootings on highways in Seattle and Kentucky this month – the latter sparking a manhunt – highlight the rise in such attacks and the dangers drivers face on the roads.

Joseph Couch, 32, is said to have injured five people when he opened fire on Interstate 75 in Kentucky on September 7.

On September 2, 44-year-old Californian Eric Perkins reportedly opened fire on I-5 in Seattle, injuring six people in three counties and hitting at least 10 vehicles with bullets, Washington State Patrol spokesman Christopher Loftis told Fox News Digital.

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Perkins was arrested the next day and charged with five counts of assault with a firearm. According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, he admitted to the shooting to investigators, saying he had recently lost his home and had been to Tacoma General Hospital seeking help the day before he shot at unsuspecting motorists.

Six hours before the shooting, Perkins told police he thought people were “after him.” He later told them his friend had given him a gun to protect himself.

Eric Perkins, the suspect in the I-5 shooting in Seattle, is seen with his hands raised after being arrested by the Washington State Patrol. (Fox 13)

The shootings came after Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that highway shootings were increasing in counties in Washington, California, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Between 2014 and 2023, the number of people shot in traffic-related incidents increased by more than 400 percent nationwide, from 92 to 481, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

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This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic at a standstill during a shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Kentucky, on Saturday, September 7, 2024. (Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP)

Loftis told Fox News Digital that Washington's King County has seen an increase in highway shootings. This year alone, there have been 37 victims of such incidents in the county, and 59 statewide. Those numbers are on par with highway shootings in 2023, but in 2022, he said, there have only been 33 such victims statewide, 14 of them in King County.

In 2024, there were 817 reports nationwide of guns on highways or country roads and 631 reports of people hearing gunshots while driving.

According to Loftis, a quarter to a third of these incidents are gang-related, with another large portion being committed by aggressive drivers, he said.

“It's difficult to investigate,” Loftis said. “Traffic is still moving – by the time our officers get there, many minutes have passed and traffic has started moving again.”

Gene Petrino, a retired SWAT commander with over 30 years of law enforcement experience in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, explained the difficulty of investigating a “moving crime scene.”

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“Part of the problem from a law enforcement perspective is you're dealing with different jurisdictions because these highways or expressways go through different cities and counties,” he said. “It's a moving environment. You're not going to have as many witnesses because they're busy driving.”

Both Petrino and Loftis said drivers often do not report shootings until they reach their destination.

“I'm sure this has happened to you before – you hear something while you're driving, see a small dent when you get home and assume a rock hit your car. Sometimes people don't call until they get home and see a bullet hole in their car. Because of this, it becomes difficult to provide evidence,” Petrino said.

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Some states have been able to get the problem under control through increased enforcement.

Illinois saw a rise in highway shootings in 2021. In response, the state's police increased enforcement efforts and said they had begun using automatic license plate readers and other measures to curb the violence.

According to the state's dashboard, which tracks highway shootings, the number of incidents fell from 189 in 2022 to 129 in 2023. There have been 69 incidents in the state since the beginning of the year.