Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky

Multiple people were shot along a highway in the southern US state of Kentucky, authorities said Saturday, as police hunted for a suspect considered "armed and dangerous."

Four to six people had been shot, Kentucky State Police spokesman Scottie Pennington told local media.

There were "multiple severe injuries" but no confirmed deaths, local news station WYMT reported, citing the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities were searching for Joseph Couch, 32, considered a person of interest in the shooting that closed Interstate 75 in both directions due to the "active shooter situation."

"Consider armed and dangerous," the sheriff's office said in its Facebook post about Couch, following its initial report of "numerous persons" shot.

"Do not attempt to approach."

"The suspect has not been caught at this time we are urging people to stay inside!" Pennington posted on Facebook.

He later told the Louisville Courier Journal that "we have no clue where (the suspect) is at."

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear asked people to avoid the area that had been shut down.

Rural Laurel County is some 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the city of Lexington along I-75, a major north-south artery cutting across the eastern half of the United States.

Gun violence is common in the United States, a country where there are more firearms than people.

Despite polls showing Americans favor more gun restrictions, a powerful gun rights lobby, constitutional protections and a passionate culture around firearm ownership mean that attempts to clamp down on gun rights are always met with stiff political resistance.