LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – 24.09., 10:20 a.m.

Update: According to the Commonwealth Arrest warrants were obtained against Joseph Couch by attorney Jackie Steele.

The arrest warrants accuse 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch of five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault. Additional charges could be added later, including criminal damage and reckless endangerment.

The Kentucky State Police have taken the lead in the ongoing manhunt for Joseph A. Couch.

Officials with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office say their resources have been exhausted and they are turning the search over to KSP. Laurel County will continue to assist.

An estimated 40 to 50 law enforcement officers were actively searching a remote wooded area near Exit 49 on I-75.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Couch legally purchased an AR-15 from a local store on Saturday.

CBS News confirmed through a U.S. Army spokesman that Couch was in the Army Reserve for six years.

On Sunday, officers searched Couch’s home.

For safety reasons, the search has been suspended for the night, but police will continue to cordon off the search area.

The search will resume at 8 a.m. Several surrounding school districts have canceled classes for Monday.

According to officials, 12 vehicles were hit by gunfire on I-75 on Saturday evening.

They estimate that at least twenty to thirty shots were fired.

District attorneys say Couch was previously charged with making terroristic threats in Knox County in February, but the charges were dropped.

The public is asked not to engage with the suspect but to instead contact police as he remains considered armed and dangerous.

Laurel County Sheriff John Root said, “We are doing everything we can. We are out in force and I am confident that this man will soon be brought to justice and found.”

PREVIOUS UPDATE: The suspect in a mass shooting on the Laurel County highway is on the run and is considered armed and dangerous.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for Joseph A. Couch, 32, of Woodbine, KY. He is described as 5’10” tall and 150 pounds. Officials advise against approaching him.

In a press conference Sunday afternoon, Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo confirmed the search for Couch is still ongoing. Federal, state and local authorities are working together. He says the London Laurel Rescue Squad drone is in the air using infrared technology to assist in the search. Acciardo says they are searching a dense wooded area, which is making the search difficult.

KY 909, the road leading from I-75 Exit 49 to US 25, and the Exit 49 ramp remain closed.

Acciardo says a vehicle belonging to Couch was found late Saturday night near a logging road near exit 49 on I-75. The vehicle that was found and registered to Couch was a silver Toyota SUV. He calls the discovery of the car a “stroke of luck” that allowed them to identify Couch as a suspect. He attributes the location of the vehicle to “good police work.”

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday afternoon that Couch had been named a suspect in the mass murder. He was downgraded from the “person of interest” category during Sunday’s 3 p.m. press conference. The decision to upgrade was made based on new information from their investigation, but no details were released.

Based on the vehicle’s location, officers believe Couch did not fire from his vehicle. The vehicle was off a logging road. They say Couch likely would have had to walk to the highway.

On Sunday afternoon, Deputy Acciardo announced that an AR-15 was found in the area. He says they believe the AR-15 was the weapon used in Saturday’s mass shooting. They are still waiting on ballistics to confirm this. Several fully loaded magazines were also found in the area. Acciardo says they have not yet confirmed who the AR-15 is registered to.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office continues to advise people to avoid the area. Although they believe Couch is in the north part of the county, Acciardo says he could “show up anywhere.”

Acciardo says this was “definitely not” a case of road rage. However, a motive has not yet been determined.

Acciardo said the search was temporarily suspended overnight because it was determined there was no danger to the public, but conditions could have put search teams at risk.

Laurel County Sheriff John Root said officers were originally called to a report of a gunshot victim on I-75 near Exit 49 around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

When officers arrived, they found 12 vehicles that had been shot at in both the northbound and southbound directions. Five people were seriously injured. Deputy Acciardo said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon that one person was shot in the face, another in the arm and another across the chest. Acciardo emphasized the severity of the injuries again, saying, “We have not had any fatalities, but we have certainly had some very serious injuries that will affect these people for the rest of their lives.”

Officers on scene transported the injured to a local hospital for treatment. London Mayor Randall Weddle told WKYT that the five victims were stable. Three were flown in from St. Joseph’s London for treatment. Three injured people are reportedly being treated at UK Hospital in Lexington.

Lexington police assisted in the search with their helicopter.

Officials would like to reassure citizens that they are currently safe due to the number of police stations in the area.

However, they remind people to remain vigilant and stay at home.

Anyone currently in the area is asked to follow police, fire service instructions and traffic signs for the remaining diversions.

Agencies assisting during the search throughout the evening included: London City Police, Kentucky State Police, Corbin City Police, Williamsburg City Police, Richmond City Police, FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, ATF, Lexington Metro, Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office, Mount Vernon Police Department, East Bernstadt Fire and Rescue, London Fire Department, London – Laurel County Rescue Squad, Laurel County Emergency Management, ABC, Bluegrass Army Depot Police and numerous area fire departments.

This is an evolving story.

All rights reserved.