Joseph Couch, 32, is the suspect in the multi-agency manhunt for allegedly randomly shooting five people on Interstate 75 over the weekend. According to Couch’s neighbors, Couch had previously pointed his rifle at them, acted strangely, and even appeared to walk in circles outside while carrying a rifle at a property where he lived.
Couch was taken into custody at the Gray, Kentucky, house back on February 8 on a third-degree terroristic threat allegation. A uniform citation from Kentucky State Police indicates that the residence is roughly 20 miles south of I-75’s Exit 49, which is where the incident occurred.
Police were called by a neighbor, who then issued a citation. The neighbor said that after confronting Couch about throwing a rock at the family dog, Couch pointed a loaded AR-style gun at the neighbor’s child, who was nine years old.
“He went in his house, grabbed an AR-15, pointed it at mine and my daughter’s direction, said next time he would shoot me and my daughter,” the neighbor stated. “So, naturally, I went and filed charges on him.”
The neighbor objected to being called by name. When he did not appear for the scheduled court appearance, the charges were subsequently withdrawn.
He added that he thought the police ought to have taken Couch’s firearms away. “They dismissed it because they never notified me that there was a court date,” he claimed.
“He’s threatened more than one person with a firearm in this neighborhood,” he stated.
Donald Causey, 61, a neighbor, said that up until earlier this year, he and Couch got along well. After that, Couch seemed to change. Causey claimed that last week, when Couch reportedly pulled a weapon on him for strolling close to his land, things got out of hand.
“He went back in his house, and he came back out and he pointed his rifle and said ‘I’ll just kill you,'” Causey stated.
Causey claims he regrets not calling the police after the I-75 shooting because he did not do so because he and the victim had gotten along in the past.
He continued, “This spring we got a long great—I let him borrow my lawn mower a couple times,” noting that Couch seemed to be having mental health issues. “If you talk to him 15 seconds you can tell.”
Causey claimed that during their most recent meeting, he went home to defuse the situation, but Couch returned carrying his firearm.
“He put it up on his shoulder like he was marching, and he went around his house about 50 times in a circle,” Causey stated. “…He just started marching like he never spoke to us or nothing.”
“I’m going to kill a lot of people,” Couch allegedly texted immediately before Saturday’s shooting on I-75, according to an arrest warrant. “I’ll kill myself afterwards,” read one remark, and “Well try at least.” The woman who got the texts called a dispatcher to report them, according to the affidavit.
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Couch faces five counts of first-degree assault and five counts of criminal attempt to commit murder for the shootings that left five people injured.
Searchers have been scouring thousands of acres in a tough region of southeast Kentucky, including the Daniel Boone National Forest, since Saturday in an attempt to find Couch.
A $25,000 reward is being offered by the authorities for information that results in his capture.
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