Schools close and residents on high alert as manhunt in Kentucky for highway sniper resumes

Central Kentucky residents were advised to be on high alert as the third day of searches for a suspected highway sniper continued on Monday.

The suspect, Joseph Couch, 32, has not been found since Saturday afternoon, when he allegedly fired shots from an AR-15 on a cliff ledge on the side of Interstate 75, striking 12 cars and wounding five people. Schoolchildren in central Kentucky will not be in the classroom on Monday as area schools have closed for safety reasons, according to CNN.

“You need to lock your doors. If you have security cameras, make sure you’re constantly watching them, maybe keep your porch lights on,” Kentucky State Police spokesman Scottie Pennington told area residents. “Have your cellphone and make sure your phones are charged up because you never know when you might have to contact somebody or law enforcement.”

Authorities resumed searching at 8 a.m. on Monday in a densely wooded area near where his AR-15, ammunition, car, and possibly phone were found. The motive for this attack is still unknown but appeared to be a “random act” of violence, Laurel County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities are warning that he could still be armed as he purchased a firearm and around 1,000 rounds of ammunition on the day of the attack. Laurel County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Richard Dalrymple said it is also possible Couch has committed suicide in the wooded area.

Schools in the counties of Laurel, Jackson, and Clay canceled classes on Monday as a result of the manhunt.

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“Of course, their priority is to keep our children safe,” Mayor Randall Weddle of London, Kentucky, said on Sunday. London is about 9 miles from where the shootings occurred.

There were no deaths, but some injuries were “very severe,” according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office deputy.