Kentucky interstate shooting adds to string of highway violence that has US drivers on edge

Two mass highway shootings in Seattle and Kentucky this month – the latter of which sparked a manhunt – highlight the uptick of such attacks and the dangers drivers face on the roads.

Joseph Couch, 32, allegedly wounded five people while opening fire on Interstate 75 in Kentucky on Sept. 7.

On Sept. 2, 44-year-old California resident Eric Perkins allegedly opened fire on Seattle's I-5, injuring six people across three counties and hitting at least 10 vehicles with bullets, Washington State Patrol Public Information Officer Christopher Loftis told Fox News Digital. 

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Authorities are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to fugitive Joseph Couch's arrest. (U.S. Marshal Service)

Perkins was arrested and charged with five counts of first-degree assault with a firearm the next day. He admitted the shooting to investigators, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, and said that he had recently lost his housing and was in Tacoma General Hospital the day before he shot at unwitting drivers in an attempt to get help. 

Six hours before the shooting, Perkins told police he believed people were "coming after him." He later told them that his friend gave him a gun to protect himself. 

Seattle I-5 shooting suspect Eric Perkins is seen with his hands up after he was apprehended by Washington State Patrol. (Fox 13)

The shootings unfolded after Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that highway shootings were on the rise in counties in Washington State, California, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Florida. 

Between 2014 and 2023, the number of people shot in road rage incidents nationwide has surged by more than 400%, from 92 to 481, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

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This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP)

Loftis told Fox News Digital that Washington's King County has seen an uptick in highway shootings. Just this year, the county has seen 37 victims of such incidents and 59 statewide. Those numbers are on par with highway shootings in 2023, but in 2022, he said, the entire state had just 33 such victims, with 14 in King County. 

Statewide in 2024, there have been 817 reports of weapons on freeways or on the roadways and 631 reports of people hearing gunfire while driving. 

Of those incidents, Loftis said, between a quarter to a third have been gang-related. Another large portion, he said, is perpetrated by aggressive drivers.

"That is a difficult thing to investigate," Loftis said. "Traffic keeps moving – by the time our troopers get there, many minutes have gone by and the traffic has moved on."

Gene Petrino, a retired SWAT commander with over three decades of law enforcement experience in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, explained the difficulty of investigating a "moving crime scene."

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"Part of the problem from a law enforcement perspective is that you're looking at different jurisdictions, because these freeways or highways are going through different towns, counties," he said. "It's a moving environment. You're not going to have as many witnesses because they're busy driving."

Oftentimes, both Petrino and Loftis said, drivers don't report the shootings until after they've arrived at their destination.

"I'm sure it's happened to you – you hear something while you're driving, you see a little dent when you get home, and you assume that a rock hit your car. Sometimes, people don't call in until they get home and see a bullet hole in their car. Because of that, you're going to have a hard time with evidence," Petrino said. 

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Some states have managed to control the problem with increased enforcement. 

Illinois had a spike in expressway shootings in 2021. In response, police in the state stepped up their enforcement, saying that they had begun using automatic license plate readers and other measures to blunt the violence. 

According to the state's dashboard that tracks highway shootings, incidents decreased from 189 in 2022 to 129 in 2023. Year-to-date, there have been 69 incidents in the state.