ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

World

    • Schools close as search for gunman who wounded 5 people on Kentucky interstate drags into third day

    Share
    LONDON, Ky. -

    More than a dozen school districts shut down Monday across a wide swath of southeastern Kentucky as a grueling search stretched into a third day for a gunman who opened fire on an interstate highway and wounded five people over the weekend.

    Searches have been combing the rugged, hilly area since Saturday evening, when a gunman began shooting at drivers on Interstate 75 near London, a small city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometres) south of Lexington.

    "We're not going to quit until we do lay hands on him," Laurel County Sheriff John Root said, with the search area covering thousands of acres (hectares).

    Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named a suspect in the shooting after authorities recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semiautomatic weapon nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.

    Christina DiNoto, who witnessed the shooting Saturday while driving on I-75, said Monday that it weighed heavily on her mind.

    "To know that he's still at large -- that makes me nervous, honestly," she said.

    DiNoto, an IT project manager, said the shooting also unlocked a new kind of fear, "like you have to be scared to even just drive on the highways."

    Authorities vowed to keep up a relentless pursuit of the gunman in the densely wooded area as local residents worried about where the shooter might turn up next.

    Administrators in Rockcastle County, just north of where the shooting took place, said in a social media message that they decided to close classes while the shooter is still at large "out of an abundance of caution."

    Donna Hess, who lives 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the shooting scene in rural Laurel County, agreed with the decision to close schools there. Both of her children, a first grader and preschooler, normally take the bus.

    "I'd be afraid he'd try to hijack the bus and take the kids as hostages," Hess said. "I'm worried about everybody because they don't know where he's at. I'm hoping they catch him soon. We don't know what he's capable of right now."

    Katie Patel, who works at a London motel, brought her 7-year-old son with her because schools were closed. Even he was worried about his 2-year-old sister when she went off to day care.

    "He was questioning me: 'Is she going to be safe?"' Patel said.

    Meanwhile, downtown London appeared to be nearly deserted.

    "Normally this street would be very busy," Sharee St. Louis Smith said while taking a smoke break from her job in adult education. "It's just been a lot quieter than we're used to seeing."

    Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office said authorities are doing everything they can.

    "The longer we continue, and the more area we clear and the more places we are sure he is not, the safer people are going to be," he said. "And I'm confident eventually we'll figure it out and we'll find him."

    State police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London post, said troopers are being brought in from across the state to aid in the search focused on a remote area about 8 miles (13 kilometres) north of London. He described the extensive search area as "walking in a jungle" with machetes needed to cut through thickets.

    Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of the shooting scene. Authorities said he purchased the weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London.

    Couch served in the National Guard for at least four years, Dalrymple said. The U.S. Army said in a statement that Couch was in the Army Reserve from March 2013 to January 2019 as a combat engineer who was a private when he left and had no deployments.

    Authorities said the shooter fired 20 to 30 rounds, striking 12 vehicles on the interstate Saturday.

    DiNoto, 39, was driving through Kentucky with a friend on her way back to Houston after visiting relatives in Rochester, New York, when they heard a loud noise Saturday and assumed a rock had hit her back windshield. Her friend wondered whether it was gunshots, but they quickly dismissed the possibility.

    The driver of a truck in the next lane slumped over and pulled to the side of the road, but DiNoto assumed the cause was something like a tire blowout. They saw first responders barreling down the highway but didn't realize there'd been a shooting until the friend's dad called to check on them 90 minutes later.

    "We were in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, and it was just like, what? Somebody was on an overpass shooting AR-15 at us?" DiNoto said.

    Acciardo said authorities found Couch's abandoned vehicle Saturday and an AR-15 rifle on Sunday in a wooded area near a highway where "he could have shot down upon the interstate." A phone believed to be Couch's was also found by law enforcement, but the battery had been taken out.

    Specially trained officers were deployed through the night in strategic locations in the woods to prevent the shooter from slipping through, he said.

    "We've got to get him," Acciardo said.

    ------

    Associated Press reporters Tara Copp in Washington and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this story.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

    The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    Canada

    • The victim of a violent robbery in Thornhill says he had $100,000 to $110,000 stolen from him after being boxed in his car.

    • The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    • A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

    • One of the B.C. Conservative candidates running in the province's second-largest city has apologized for "completely unacceptable" comments he made about Muslims and Palestinians.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • A newly released trailer for a Calgary-filmed movie features plenty of shots of local landmarks.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has abandoned his bid to appeal his 2022 sexual assault conviction before Canada's top court.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    • Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and the provincial government to launch a new “incubator programâ€. One of the first three locations is Windsor, with the other two going to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

    Local Spotlight

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

    Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

    • A B.C. man was found guilty and sentenced for murder after failing to convince a judge that the woman he killed and dismembered consented to the strangulation that caused her death.

    • There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    • A man has been charged with first degree murder in a shooting in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood six weeks ago, police announced Thursday.

    • A dashcam video that captured the moment a BMW rear-ended another vehicle near High Park, which set off a chain-reaction collision, was played at the trial of the man charged in the deadly 2021 crash.

    • The victim of a violent robbery in Thornhill says he had $100,000 to $110,000 stolen from him after being boxed in his car.

    • Three Toronto police officers have been injured in separate incidents involving alleged stolen vehicles in Etobicoke.

    • More than a month after the Alberta government announced it would be pulling funding for Calgary's Green Line project, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says progress has been made.

    • United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) delegates are meeting in Calgary this week to discuss stalled labour negotiations with the province.

    • Another significant block of Prairie grasslands in the southern-most part of Alberta is being conserved.

    • OC Transpo says moving forward, its Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) program will procure 40-foot e-buses due to limited availability from manufacturers of 60-foot articulated buses.

    • Former Ottawa resident Angelina Armstrong-Mann says it was clear when Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida Wednesday night—she heard it.

    • Students from Elmwood School donated turkeys and raised money for the Ottawa Mission, ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.

    • A man is in life-threatening condition after being shot in a Laval parking lot Thursday afternoon.

    • A 32-year-old woman from Ile-Bizard is facing jail time after she was found guilty Thursday of driving while impaired by prescription drugs.

    • Catherine Reid helped deliver her fourth child by reaching down her own womb and bringing baby Marion into the world.

    • An Edmonton daycare has been shut down after failing to address concerns about unsupervised children, the province said Thursday.

    • Alberta LGBTQ2S+ groups say they are disappointed to see MLA Jennifer Johnson welcomed back into the United Conservative caucus.

    • The Oilers, Stanley Cup finalists in June, lost their National Hockey League season-opening game Wednesday night 6-0 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

    • Doctor Scott Bowen at the Cumberland Regional Hospital in Amherst, N.S is said he is alarmed by the state of Nova Scotia’s emergency rooms.

    • The aurora may be visible in some parts of the Maritimes Thursday night.

    • Hurricane Milton's devastation in Florida impacts Maritimers near and far

    • A woman is speaking out after an assault on a Winnipeg Transit bus sent her and her daughter to the hospital.

    • The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    • A new report taking a second look at sleep safety in infants found a fundamental shift is needed to prevent babies from unnecessarily dying in their sleep.

    • RCMP say officers have found an abandoned vehicle and seized a firearm connected to an armed robbery in the Whitewood, Sask. area Wednesday night, but are still on the hunt for two suspects.

    • Amid what could be Saskatchewan's tightest election in 17 years, the leader of the NDP is asking voters to set party politics aside and support what's the best course for the province.

    • Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if re-elected premier on Oct. 28.

    • Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a Waterloo man who they believe is linked to a group that has been scamming victims across Canada.

    • The City of Guelph is calling its new bylaw, banning encampments in the downtown core, a compassionate and cautious approach to the growing problem in the community.

    • The skills of international students are being put to good use in the Canadian job market, according to a new first-of-its-kind study by University of Waterloo (UW) researchers.

    • Emails obtained by CTV News show a Saskatoon private school embroiled in abuse allegations considered mayoral hopeful Gord Wyant a "friend," but he says he cut off contact when the allegations came to light.

    • Saskatoon's civic election is inching closer, as candidates are now finalized ahead of voting day on Nov. 13.

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP is responding to a report of an armed carjacking in Red Pheasant First Nation.

    • An Ontario man said he feels 'devastated' after learning his identity was stolen to take out two fraudulent loans under his name.

    • Glenn Thompson packs his E-bike to make the short trip back to the room he’s renting. Just a few short weeks ago, he was living in a tent.

    • At around 9:15 a.m. emergency services responded to reports of a possible stabbing in the area of Oxford Street West and Fiddlers Green Road.

    • Just before 5:00 p.m., police were called to the two vehicle collision on 1st Avenue North between 4th Street and 5th Street NW, in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie.

    • A blaze which at its peak reached 20 feet in the air had St. Thomas firefighters busy on Thursday.

    • Police in Barrie are investigating a theft at a convenience store that they say turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.

    • The Town of Wasaga Beach has yet another hiccup in its multi-million-dollar plan to redevelop its iconic beachfront as it announced Thursday it is parting ways with FRAM Building Group and will explore options for a new developer to take over the project.

    • Provincial police say seven people are facing charges after a massive grow operation bust outside Orillia, Ont., where over $2 million in cannabis plants were seized.

    • Brett Iler has pleaded not guilty to six charges of careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act in a collision that killed two people and injured three others.

    • A Harrow mother is advocating for her eight-year-old daughter’s bus stop to be moved, over concerns the current location puts her in harm’s way.

    • The removal of 13 vehicles and one trailer from the Detroit River in Sandwich Town is complete.

    • A suspect has been arrested after allegedly shooting a pellet gun at someone in a Victoria parking lot last week, according to authorities.

    • Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.

    • A B.C. man was found guilty and sentenced for murder after failing to convince a judge that the woman he killed and dismembered consented to the strangulation that caused her death.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.

    • A weapons complaint that led to the temporary lockdown of two Lethbridge schools Thursday turned out to be no threat, police said in a media release.

    • Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.

    • Sault Ste. Marie Police Service said two people were arrested following a heavy police presence on Chapple Avenue on Thursday.

    • An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.

    • Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News