Drivers park on the the lanes of the I-75 highway after reports of multiple people shot in Kentucky
Credit: Reuters Photo
A section of a Kentucky highway was closed Saturday night after five people were shot, authorities said.
What led up to the shooting was not immediately clear. All five shooting victims were in stable condition, said a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that the shooting happened on Interstate 75, which was closed at Exit 49, 9 miles north of London, Kentucky. It said the highway was closed “due to an active shooter situation,” but did not elaborate.
Randall Weddle, the mayor of London, said in a Facebook video said authorities were searching for a “suspect or suspects” in “rugged terrain” in the northern part of Laurel County.
Acciardo said helicopters and infrared scanners were being used to search for the gunman in the woods.
The London Police Department said Saturday night that a person of interest had been identified and asked the public for any information about his whereabouts. London is about 90 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky.
Angel Jarrett was working at the 49er Truck Stop when someone told her that shots had been fired nearby.
Eventually, multiple police cars surrounded the truck stop near the exit where the shooting took place and placed the facility on lockdown.
“We’re not allowed to go in or out,” Jarrett said. “It’s a little panicky but we’re OK. They’re surrounding us, the cops are.”
Saint Joseph London, a hospital in London that is a part of CHI Saint Joseph Health, said that it had “received multiple patients and is treating them for minor injuries.”
Two patients were being treated at the University of Kentucky’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital, a spokesperson said. Their conditions were unknown.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on social media that it was sending agents from its Louisville, Kentucky, office to help state police and local authorities “with a critical incident” near I-75 in Laurel County.