'You'll see community': After shooting, Eastern Ky. residents say area is more than tragedy

Charles Melton keeps coming back to southeast Kentucky.

He's lived on the West Coast, in Tucson, Arizona and near Canada, "but this is where I felt the best. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to raise my kids," he said. "And it's because of that feeling of community. I've never felt that anywhere other than here."

That hasn't changed despite the ongoing manhunt for the person who opened fire on Interstate 75 outside of London, Kentucky, Saturday night, shooting five people.

Incidents like that are "unheard of" in the area, said Melton, who lives in neighboring Clay County and goes to church in London.

As sunlight poured over London on Sunday morning, police officers began heading back into the Daniel Boone National Forest in pursuit of suspect Joseph Couch. Businesses in town closed their lobbies, and some churches canceled service.

Yet, at the same time, two sisters were baptized at First Baptist Church of London, which youth pastor Jesse Armstrong called a "stark contrast" to Saturday night. Ophelia Riley, a London native who lives about two hours away in Glasgow, drove through the night to check on her family members in Laurel County.

London resident Scott Ryan continued delivering DoorDash orders — just like he did Saturday evening when he was stuck in stop-and-go traffic on the very same highway where shots rang out.

Ryan heard about the shooting from a first responder talking to people in the car in front of him while he was idled on the interstate.

"I couldn't hear how many people were (shot), but I just knew there were people that were injured," he said.

Ryan has lived in London for 17 years, and this is the first time he has heard of a situation like this.

"You hear about people being killed in London, people being shot," he said. "But this is a totally different situation."

First Baptist Church of London worship pastor Glenn Toney agreed.

"I think it was just such a shock," Toney said. "Because it's one of those things where you realize — you don't think it could happen here."

It is a "wonderful community," with a "small-town feel" where people know and recognize one another in town, said Toney.

"I mean, the people are friendly, the people are loving, you know?" Toney said. "It's not a place where I think that — like I said, it just caught everybody by surprise."

Even the suspect was a "familiar face," he said.

By Sunday morning, the Laurel County Sheriff's Office received enough food and water donations to last the rest of the night, if needed. The suspect was still at large Sunday afternoon, but law enforcement found his car and an AR-15 in the wooded area near the interstate.

The community has been incredibly supportive through the search, despite being "tore up and worried," said Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff's Department.

As London gains nationwide attention for the shooting, Melton wants people to know the community is more than the horrific shooting.

"You're not seeing the town," Melton said. "You're not seeing the people. You're not seeing the community. What I suggest that people do is look up the town. Look up things that it does. Look up the way that it handles itself on a day-to-day basis. You're not going to see tragedies like this every day. You're not going to see tragedies like this every year, every 10 years, anything like that. What you'll see, though, is you'll see community."

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at [email protected] or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky shooting: Area residents embrace community