Ky. district scraps in-person school, several football games canceled amid shooter manhunt
Corbin Independent School District officials announced Wednesday that school buildings will be closed for the rest of the week and the district will use online learning as the suspect in the shooting of five people on Interstate 75 this past weekend remains at-large.
The announcement comes as several school districts have closed or moved online in recent days as the manhunt for Joseph Couch, suspect of opening fire on the busy highway on Saturday, stretches into day five in the woods of north Laurel County. Twelve cars were shot, but no fatalities were reported.
On Wednesday afternoon, Corbin Independent School officials said if the issue is resolved before the weekend, they will make a statement regarding reopening school. If not, they will make a statement on Sunday afternoon about school next week.
District officials said they were in close contact with local and state law enforcement and the Kentucky Center for School Safety “in order to make the best decisions for our educational family.”
“This is obviously a fluid situation and we will share information as it is availed to us,” a district statement on Facebook said.
At least four football games have been canceled in southeastern Kentucky due to safety concerns over the manhunt: Madison Central at North Laurel, Whitley County at South Laurel and Pulaski County at Corbin, according to social media posts from those programs. Jackson County’s annual game with Shawnee is also canceled, according to the sports news outlet 13th Region Media Network.
South Laurel coach John Hines told the Louisville Courier Journal Wednesday that the whole county “has been on lockdown pretty much” since Sunday. “Everybody’s just kind of on edge until they find this guy.”
Meanwhile, Knox Central High School, which has also been closed this week, practiced in its fieldhouse behind locked doors, the Courier Journal reported.
In other sports, such as boys and girls soccer and volleyball, North Laurel and South Laurel and a number of other area schools seem to have cleared this week of games entirely, according to their schedules posted on the KHSAA’s website.
Schools in Rockcastle County, which is near the shooting site, reopened Wednesday with enhanced security in place, according to a post on the district site. Those measures included stationing more police in school campuses, keeping all students and staff inside during the school day and keeping classroom doors locked. The district suspended some bus runs and said Kentucky State Police would be escorting buses from areas nearest to the shooting site.
The school systems in Knox County and East Bernstadt, a small independent district in Laurel County, said they would announce on Wednesday whether they would be open Thursday.
The Laurel County school district also said it would announce plans for Thursday. But it also said school leaders were working to complete plans “for a possible move to virtual instruction” while hoping for a return to in-person instruction “as soon as deemed safe to do so.”
“Our unwavering gratitude and prayers for all law enforcement agencies and emergency response teams continue,” the school district said in a statement.
This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:35 PM.