Portion of a flyer issued by law enforcement on Sept. 8, the day after the shootings. (Source: FBI)
Kentucky officials on Tuesday announced a shift in the search for the suspect in the Sept. 7 shootings on Interstate 75 to focus on increasing police presence and patrols in nearby communities.
Gov. Andy Behsear said that on the manhunt’s 11th day there remains only a low probability of finding Joseph Couch, 32, in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Monitoring of the forest will continue by aircraft and surveillance cameras placed in the 28,000 acres that have been searched, officials said.
Beshear said the main goal now is to reassure people they’re safe and can go about their lives.
“It’s a reallocation not a reduction,” Beshear said during a noon briefing by state, federal and local law enforcement in London.
Couch, who left behind a car and an AR-15 rifle, is believed to have fled into the forest. Schools in southern Kentucky canceled classes and football games in response. Laurel County schools reopened Tuesday for the first time since the shootings.
Couch is charged with attempted murder and assault for allegedly shooting at cars from a ledge overlooking I-75. Five people were wounded; all have been released from hospitals.
FBI Special Agent Quincy Barnett said the fugitive search will continue from the bureau’s London office.
Beshear advised against using the area of the national forest under surveillance for recreation, saying images picked up by surveillance cameras could prompt a law enforcement response.