This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., on Saturday.

Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP

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Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP

Multiple people were injured in a shooting near a highway north of London, Ky., and a person of interest remained at large, officials said Saturday.

Laurel County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area about 8 miles north of London, Ky., at about 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, where officers found nine vehicles had been shot and five people seriously injured, according to a Laurel County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

London Mayor Randall Weddle said in an earlier Facebook video that up to seven people were injured, but not all of them from gunshots — some due to car crashes. At the time he said there were no fatalities

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said that the shooting happened on I-75 at exit 49, which was closed “due to an active shooter situation.”

The interstate has since reopened in north and southbound directions, the London Police Department said on Facebook.

The London Police Department released an image of a person of interest and identified him as Joseph A. Couch, a 32-year-old white male approximately 5’10″ and 154 lbs. Couch is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, police said.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said that the “scene is being contained overnight and an active search and the continuing investigation will occur at daybreak on Sunday morning.”

The Sheriff’s Office said a number of local and federal agencies were aiding in an investigation of the shooting, including the FBI, ATF, state police and other city police agencies.

Weddle asked the public to avoid the area or choose an alternative route, also advising against taking U.S. Route 25 in both directions between London and Livingston.