Mass shooting near Kentucky Highway

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Multiple people have been shot near a Kentucky highway Saturday night, authorities said, as the search for the gunman continues.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said a stretch of Interstate 75 nine miles north of the small city of London has been shut down amid the law enforcement response. The sheriff’s office called the attack “an active shooter situation.”

"Numerous persons have been shot near I-75," the office said in a statement. The extent of possible injuries and the status of any suspect or suspects was not immediately clear.

Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to assist state police and local authorities, the ATF said.

A spokesperson for the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington told CBS News that it had received at least two patients from the incident so far, but there was no word on their conditions. Lexington is located about 90 miles north of London.

The sheriff's office said it was searching for a person of interest in the shooting, 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch. He was described as a White man, about 5-foot-10 and weighing 154 pounds. A photo of Couch was also released.

A manhunt is ongoing for a suspect who authorities say shot into nine cars on an interstate south of Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday – leaving five people seriously injured, closing the interstate for hours and putting a rural community on edge.

Vehicles were shot into on the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 75 and five people were struck by gunfire around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said. The victims are in stable condition, sheriff’s department spokesperson Gilbert Acciardo told CNN.

People in the area are urged to stay inside and remain vigilant as the search continues for Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the shooting, the London Police Department said. He is described as a White man, roughly 5 foot, 10 inches, weighing about 154 pounds, according to police. Couch is considered “armed and dangerous,” authorities said.

“Please remain vigilant and call 911 if you see the individual in question,” London Mayor Randall Weddle wrote on Facebook early Sunday morning.

“DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office warned.

Authorities knew the general area where the suspect was, the mayor said earlier, and were searching in “rugged terrain and a lot of tree lines,” which may hamper their search efforts.

It’s unclear what motivated the gunfire.

One woman who was driving on Interstate 75 with a friend from Rochester, New York, to Knoxville, Tennessee, gave harrowing details about the shooting in an interview with CNN.

When they reached London they heard a “loud noise,” Christina DiNoto said.

“We were just driving along, and all of a sudden, it was like a rock went through my back window, and it hurt my ear,” DiNoto said. “And we looked at each other and we were like,

‘Was that a gunshot?’ And then we’re like, ‘No, that wasn’t a gunshot.’”

DiNoto said she noticed a truck driving next to her car slowed down and pulled off to the shoulder of the interstate, so she initially thought they had a tire blowout. She said they saw several police cars drive by at a high speed and “so many” tires on the side of the interstate.

It wasn’t until roughly an hour and a half later DiNoto and her friend learned about the shooting. When they arrived at a friend’s house, they noticed what appeared to be paint scrapes on the back of her car.

“My hands are still shaking,” said DiNoto, who added she feels incredibly lucky.

A search is continuing on the ground and in the air for the suspected gunman accused of shooting five people on the highway in rural Kentucky over the weekend.

The U.S. Marshal's Office and the FBI are now helping in the search for 32-year-old Joseph Couch.

Authorities say they found Couch's silver Toyota SUV on Saturday night and on Sunday, they recovered an AR-15 that Couch allegedly used in the shooting, along with a thousand rounds of ammunition.

nvestigators say Couch bought the gun legally and served in the Army Reserves for at least four years.

The sheriff's office says Couch hit nine cars with bullets, hitting 5 people. Investigators think Couch opened fire from three different perches along a ridge that looks down on I-75.

Officials confirmed one of the five victims was shot in the face, another shot in the arm and a woman shot across the chest.

"They were very significant, very sever injuries, I don't want to lessen that," officials said.

oot described the chaotic scene when first responders arrived, saying cars were on the side of the road with windows shot out and people severely hurt.

NBC affiliate WLEX reports on of the victims has been discharged from the hospital and two others are in good condition.

Investigators in Laurel County have filed attempted murder charges against Couch. According to an affidavit in support of the charges, Couch allegedly texted a woman on Saturday before the shooting, saying, "I'm going to kill a lot of people. Well at least try." He then allegedly sent another text saying, "I'll kill myself afterward."

In an update Monday, Kentucky State Police said they are hoping Couch is being worn down and will eventually come out of the woods.

"We hope he's still there," Trooper Scottie Pennington with KSP said. "It's not like going over to this business and looking for somebody in there. It's not like going to a football field and trying to find somebody behind the bleachers. We are in the Daniel Boone National Forest and this is thousands and thousands of acres and as I stated last night, it's kind of like a jungle and we have cliff beds, we have sinkholes, we have caves, we have culverts that go under the interstate," Trooper Scottie Pennington with KSP said.

So far, Pennington said there has been no evidence in locating Couch.

"We're going to keep goin'. It will probably expand. And that's just the job we signed up for," Pennington said.

Pennington said they're using drones to search the wooded area for any sign of Couch.

KSP is advising residents in the area to use caution, be aware of your surroundings and to check on neighbors whenever possible and to check Ring cameras for anything suspicious.

"Stay strong. Please look after your fellow neighbors," Pennington said.

A motive for the shooting isn't clear yet - but the sheriff says this is not a case of road rage. Officials said they haven't obtained any information that makes them believe anyone else could be involved aside from Couch. Investigators said while it appears to have been a planned attack, they believe none of the travelers who were hit by bullets were specifically targeted.

A reward of $15,000 is being offered for information leading up to Couch's arrest. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said the Kentucky State Police announced a $5,000 reward and then a private donor offered $10,000 to contribute to the reward.