Travelers on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky, are surrounded by the massive Daniel Boone National Forest, dense with trees, hills, cliffs and ravines. Last Saturday, that tranquility was shattered leaving people on the road bloodied, scared and afraid, as recently-obtained 911 calls show.
While vehicles sped past, shots were fired into traffic. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a line of cars with shattered windows and visible bullet holes.
“I’ve been in law enforcement here for 48 years, and I can never remember a situation such as this in our little county here,” said Gilbert Acciardo, public affairs deputy with the Laurel County Sheriff’s office.
Authorities have since found an AR-15, loaded magazines and a car registered to Joseph Couch, who is now the suspect in the ongoing investigation and manhunt.
Acciardo described the initial scene as “chaotic” for officers tasked with deciphering various reports on what happened near Exit 49, some of which turned out to be false.
Chaos would also describe the experience for the I-75 commuters who pulled over with the shot-out windows and bullet-filled exteriors emergency responders came across.
Victims of the I-75 shooting reported serious injuries and vehicle damage to 911 dispatchers, according to calls The Courier Journal obtained Tuesday.
“I love you so much,” a man said after he told 911 dispatchers he and his wife had been shot at in their vehicle. “I love you so much. I love you so much. Don’t go anywhere. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.”
“Please,” the woman cried.
At another vehicle, a man rushed to help a woman he told dispatchers had been shot in the hip.
“She’s gushing blood, bad,” he said.
Another victim can be heard moaning from the pain of a gunshot wound she said was in her leg.
“Please, please, please,” she told a 911 dispatcher.
“An ambulance is on the way,” the dispatcher from the London-Laurel County 911 Communications Center said. “They’re coming.”
Five people were shot but none were fatally wounded. In total, 12 vehicles received damage from bullets.
Dispatchers received so many calls that they had to make several brief, advising those who reported injuries they should apply pressure to their wounds as EMS headed to the scene.
“They’re coming as fast as they can,” a dispatcher told one caller.
While the interstate fully reopened to traffic after a three-hour closure, some daily activities have not returned to normal yet. Area schools were closed Monday and Tuesday. Churches reported lower attendance Sunday as the manhunt continued.
Once captured, Couch faces multiple charges of attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
More: How the rugged Daniel Boone National Forest is complicating search for I-75 shooting suspect
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: London shooting update: 911 calls from Interstate 75
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