A manhunt is under way after at least seven people were injured when a gunman opened fire on cars on a highway in Kentucky, causing scenes described as “a madhouse”.
Police said the suspect, who remains at large, should be considered “armed and dangerous” and people have been urged to stay in their homes.
The shooting happened near the small city of London, about 75 miles (120km) south of Lexington, at about 5.30pm local time on Saturday.
Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, of Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, told a news conference on Sunday: “When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse – people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot.
“Can you imagine that? Just chaotic.”
Image: Deputy Gilbert Acciardo says it was ‘chaotic’ in the aftermath of the shooting. Pic: AP
Five people were shot and are all in a stable condition, although some have “very serious” injuries, including one person who was hit in the face, Mr Acciardo said.
Two other people were hurt in a crash caused by the shooting.
A search of a remote wooded area by officers, suspended overnight because of darkness, was to resume at daybreak on Sunday, he said.
Mr Acciardo added: “We do have the area contained right now. It’s a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there.”
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The sheriff’s office said a “person of interest” has been identified in connection with the shooting and warned people not to approach him.
He was named as 32-year-old Joseph A Couch.
But Mr Acciardo cautioned the authorities “have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon”.
Image: Joseph A Couch has been named as a ‘person of interest’. Pic: Laurel County Sheriff’s Office/ Facebook
In a video statement, London Mayor Randall Weddle said: “There are no deceased at this time. No one was killed from this, thankfully, but we ask that you continue to pray.”
He added: “We’re asking folks please do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area.
“It’s important to know you are safe.
“We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County.”
Trooper Scottie Pennington, of the Kentucky State Police, wrote on Facebook: “The suspect has not been caught at this time and we are urging people to stay inside.”
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said in a post on the social media platform: “I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security – together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible.
“Please pray for everyone involved.”
The highway, which was closed nine miles north of London following the shooting, reopened about three hours later, according to police.
Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies.
Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.
Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.
He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.
Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.
People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.
People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”
Image: Pic: AP
Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.
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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
US vice president JD Vance has met with Pope Francis.
The “quick and private” meeting took place at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City, sources told Sky News.
The meeting came amid tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration over the US president’s crackdown on migrants and cuts to international aid.
No further details have been released on the meeting between the vice president and the Pope, who has been recovering following weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.
Mr Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The Vatican said there had been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants and prisoners.
According to a statement, the two sides had “cordial talks” and the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.
“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the statement said.
Francis has previously called the Trump administration’s deportation plans a “disgrace”.
Mr Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the immigration crackdown.
The pope rebutted the theological concept Mr Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Mr Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the US.
“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,” the Pope said in the letter.
Mr Vance has acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he would continue to defend his views. During an appearance in late February at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he did not address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were “things about the faith that I don’t know”.
While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for the pontiff’s recovery.