Who is Joseph Couch, suspect in Kentucky interstate shooting?
Officials in Laurel County have identified the suspect in the shooting near Exit 49 on Interstate 75 that occurred Saturday evening.
The Laurel County Sheriff's Department is searching for 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch in connection to the shooting, the agency said in a social media post.
Officials said Couch spent four years in the Army Reserve in an engineering battalion. They also said that he purchased a weapon and 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning before the shooting.
Couch was charged with third-degree terroristic threatening in February. The case was dismissed the following month, with court records showing the alleged victim failed to appear.
According to a complaint warrant, obtained by The Courier Journal, a man said he saw Couch throw a rock at his dog. When asked why he threw the rock, Couch allegedly began cursing before entering his home and returning with a rifle, the man told police.
Couch then said he'd "kill him and the dog," in the presence of the man's nine-year-old daughter, the warrant states.
Couch faces five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault, London Mayor Randall Weddle confirmed Monday. The charges were filed by Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele, the felony prosecutor for Laurel County.
At a press conference late Sunday, Steele said he looked into Couch's background, and the suspect didn't have any prior criminal history that would indicate he was capable of the I-75 shooting.
“There was nothing in his criminal history that made me think ‘Oh we should’ve known this was coming.’ It’s just not there, very minimal," Steele said.
On Monday, Steele released an affidavit alleging Couch said he planned "to kill a lot of people" less than an hour before the Saturday shooting.
In a text message sent at 5:03 p.m. Saturday, Couch told a woman, who shares a child with him, that he planned to kill himself afterwards.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky shooting: Who is Joseph Couch, I-75 shooting suspect