By Rich McKay
(Reuters) -Kentucky police reported an “active shooter situation” on Saturday evening near Interstate-75 in London, Kentucky, where “numerous persons” have been shot in traffic.
The incident began just before 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) about nine miles outside of London, when officers were called for reports of multiple vehicles being fired at on Interstate 75 in Laurel County, multiple media accounts said. The shots were reportedly coming from a wooded area or an overpass.
How many were shot and the nature of the injuries was not immediately clear. Police officials said the suspect had not been caught.
“Please avoid I-75 around Ext 49. Until further notice! Use alternative route do not be any where in that area,” London Mayor Randall Weddle said on Facebook.
Kentucky state Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote on Facebook, “The suspect has not been caught at this time and we are urging people to stay inside.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear wrote on X: “Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available.”
He also asked that residents, “Please pray for everyone involved.”
Agents, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been called in to assist the Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement, the agency posted on X, calling it a “critical incident.”
London is a small city of about 8,000 residents near the Daniel Boone National Forest, about 90 miles south of Lexington.
This shooting comes just days after a mass shooting at a Winder, Georgia high school that saw two teachers and two students killed and nine others wounded.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; additional reporting by David G. Morgan; Editing by Alistair Bell and David Gregorio)
