Travelers on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky, are surrounded by the vast Daniel Boone National Forest, filled with trees, hills, cliffs and canyons. On Saturday, that peace was shattered, leaving people bleeding, scared and terrified on the road, according to recently obtained 911 calls.
As vehicles raced past, shots were fired into traffic. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a line of cars with broken windows and visible bullet holes.
“I’ve been in law enforcement here for 48 years and I can’t remember a situation like this in our little county,” said Gilbert Acciardo, deputy public affairs officer with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities have since recovered an AR-15, loaded magazines and a car registered to Joseph Couch, who is now considered a suspect in the ongoing investigation and manhunt.
Acciardo described the initial scene as “chaotic” for the officers who were tasked with deciphering various reports about the events at Exit 49, some of which turned out to be incorrect.
Chaos would also describe the experience of commuters who stopped on I-75 and saw emergency responders shooting out windows and littering the exterior with bullets.
According to calls The Courier Journal received Tuesday, victims of the shooting on I-75 reported to 911 dispatchers that they had suffered serious injuries and damage to their vehicles.
“I love you so much,” one man said after telling 911 dispatchers that he and his wife had been shot 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 the aid of a woman who he said had been shot in the hip.
“She’s gushing with blood, it’s horrible,” he said.
Another victim can be heard groaning in pain from a gunshot wound to her leg.
“Please, please, please,” she told a 911 dispatcher.
“There’s an ambulance on the way,” said the London-Laurel County 911 Communications Center dispatcher. “They’re coming.”
Five people were shot, but no one was fatally injured. A total of 12 vehicles were damaged by bullets.
The dispatchers were getting so many calls that they had to make a series of short calls, advising those who had reported injuries to keep pressure on their wounds while the ambulance arrived.
“They’re coming as fast as they can,” a dispatcher told a caller.
Although the interstate has fully reopened to traffic after a three-hour closure, some daily activities have not yet returned to normal. Area schools were closed Monday and Tuesday. Churches reported lower attendance on Sunday as the manhunt continued.
After Couch is arrested, he faces multiple charges including attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Contact reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
More: How the rugged Daniel Boone National Forest complicates the search for the I-75 shooting suspect
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: London shooting update: 911 calls from Interstate 75
