The authorities on Sunday pressed their search in a remote wooded area of Kentucky for a man sought in a shooting on an interstate that left five people seriously wounded and nine vehicles struck by gunfire.
Progress in the search has been slow, according to the authorities, who lost daylight on Saturday soon after being called to Interstate 75 at Exit 49, about eight miles north of London, Ky., at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
An AR-15 rifle found on Sunday in a wooded area next to the interstate was believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. However, investigators had yet to confirm that, officials said.
Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesman for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, told reporters on Sunday that all five gunshot victims were expected to survive. Deputies rushed some of the wounded to the hospital because of the severity of their injuries, Deputy Acciardo told The Courier Journal.
A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. Deputy Acciardo said that the gunman had not fired at people from a vehicle and that the shooting was not a case of road rage.
Officials found a small SUV registered to the person of interest at the top of a hill near the interstate on Saturday night. The AR-15 was then found on Sunday “some distance” from the vehicle, Deputy Acciardo said. It was unclear who the weapon was registered to.
He said that the gunman could have fired from the wooded area next to the interstate near where the rifle was found.
He described a chaotic scene on Saturday night, with several cars parked on the shoulder of the interstate with their emergency lights flashing and officers sorting through inaccurate reports about what had happened.
The authorities found nine vehicles with gunshot damage, including windows that were shot out and visible bullet holes.
The search for the gunman was suspended until daybreak on Sunday because of the danger posed to law enforcement officials if they searched in the thickly wooded area at night.
The authorities were relying on 30 to 40 people, plus dogs and a drone with an infrared scanner to help in the search.
“The problem that we have with that is the foliage is so thick there that sometimes it can’t pick up what we want it to pick up down in the woods,” the deputy said.
He said there were also a lot of rocks in the area, which could provide cover from the drone and searchers on the ground.
“He could be hiding behind a tree and us walk right up on him,” the deputy said.
Deputy Acciardo said that a person of interest the authorities identified on Saturday had not yet been formally named as a suspect because there was no video footage or other information directly connecting him to the shooting. But, he said, the person “probably will more than likely be a suspect before the day’s end.”
Deputy Acciardo said that while the authorities believed that the man was in the woods, they did not want to rule out that he could be somewhere else. He urged residents to be vigilant and to avoid the search area.
Randall Weddle, the mayor of London, said in a Facebook video on Saturday night that the authorities were searching in “rugged terrain” in the northern part of Laurel County. The City of London is about 90 miles south of Lexington.
Angel Jarrett was working at the 49er Truck Stop, near the exit where the shooting took place, when someone told her that shots had been fired nearby.
Eventually, multiple police cars surrounded the truck stop and placed it on lockdown.
“We’re not allowed to go in or out,” Ms. Jarrett said. “It’s a little panicky, but we’re OK.”
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