Kentucky man charged after police say he opened fire on interstate, striking three cars, injuring one person

Published 10:03 pm Sunday, November 21, 2021

A Kentucky man is accused of shooting at three cars on Interstate 65 and wounding one person, police said.

James Louis Hooper Jr., 51, of Louisville was charged Saturday in the Hart County shootings, Kentucky State Police said in a statement.

Authorities were first alerted when a woman called 911 to report her vehicle had been shot by someone in a separate vehicle around the 58 mile marker, the statement said. She gave authorities a description of the vehicle and driver as well as license plate information, police said.

A short time later, another driver called to report his vehicle had been shot at and that a passenger was struck. The second caller provided the same description of the other car and driver, police said. A third vehicle was later found to also have been fired at.

Kentucky State Police troopers located a vehicle and driver matching the description near the 84 mile marker and made a traffic stop, the statement said. Hooper was arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of wanton endangerment, police said.

The victim in the second vehicle was hospitalized with wounds that weren’t life threatening, police said. Authorities say they haven’t found any connection between the victims and Hooper.

The suspect is being held at the Hart County Jail. Online records don’t list an attorney.