CNN
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Residents are asked to remain vigilant as a manhunt continues for an “armed and dangerous” person of interest in the shooting that injured five people Saturday on a highway in a rural area of ​​Laurel County, Kentucky, authorities said.

Nine vehicles were shot at in both the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 75 and five people were struck by gunfire around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said. All five victims are in stable condition, sheriff’s spokesman Gilbert Acciardo told CNN.

Joseph A. Couch was identified as a person of interest in the incident, the London Police Department said. He is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 154 pounds, according to police.

“We know the general area where this individual is located,” London Mayor Randall Weddle said in a video update Saturday night, adding that he would not provide further details. The mayor previously said authorities were searching in “rough terrain and a lot of tree lines,” which could hamper their efforts.

It is unclear what motivated the shooting. “The investigation has begun and a suspect has been developed and the search for this suspect continues,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The crime scene will be contained overnight and an active search and continued investigation will occur at sunrise Sunday morning,” the sheriff’s office said.

The shooting prompted a multi-agency search for the shooter, as the highway was closed for hours “due to the danger to passing vehicles in the area of ​​the shooting,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said. The FBI, the U.S. Marshal Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all assisting in the search, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities urged people to stay indoors and be vigilant as the search continued.

“If you think you hear something outside your home, do not go outside and shoot,” Weddle said. “Our officers or first responders may be in that area. Call 911.”

The gun violence threw rush-hour traffic into chaos Saturday, just days after a mass shooting left four people dead and nine hospitalized at a high school in Winder, Georgia, and less than a week after a shooting injured half a dozen people driving on a Seattle-area freeway.

“I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security — together we are actively monitoring the situation and providing support in any way we can,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. “Please keep everyone involved in this in your prayers.”

A woman who was driving with a friend on Interstate 75 from Rochester, New York, to Knoxville, Tennessee, gave chilling details of the shooting in an interview with CNN.

When they reached London, Christina DiNoto and her friend heard a “loud noise.”

“We were just driving along and all of a sudden it was like a rock went through my back window and it hurt my ear,” DiNoto said. “And we looked at each other and we were like,

“Was that a shot?” And we say, “No, that wasn’t a shot.”

DiNoto said she saw a truck pull up next to her car, slow down and pull onto the shoulder of the freeway, so she initially thought she had a blowout. She said she saw multiple police cars drive by at a high rate of speed and “so many” tires on the side of the freeway.

It wasn’t until about an hour and a half later that DiNoto and her friend learned of the shooting. When they arrived at a friend’s house, they saw what appeared to be paint residue on the back of her car.

“My hands are still shaking,” said DiNoto, who added that she feels incredibly lucky.