Sunday night, the Kentucky State Police Bomb Squad was requested to respond to a possible bomb in a barn near a residence in the 2500 block of Richland Road, just outside of Caneyville.
It was the occupants of the residence, 59-year-old Johnnie Hayes and 39-year-old Wanda Ferguson, who were shot multiple times on the morning of November 21 as the pair chased would-be burglars in a vehicle on Richland Road. Both have since been released from the hospital.
On Sunday night, Hayes reported to Grayson County Central Dispatch that he found what he thought was a bomb in his barn. The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched, followed by the KSP Bomb Squad.
Multiple police vehicles could be seen on the property Sunday night at 9:45. KSP arrived on scene about 90 minutes earlier.
It’s currently not known if the object discovered in Hayes’ barn was a bomb, but an unconfirmed report indicates the device was a large bucket with gun powder and other objects inside. K105 will have additional information on this incident as it becomes available.
The November 21 shooting began when Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Norder and Deputy Brandon Rafferty were told by Central Dispatch at about 1:00 that morning that someone was trying to break into a residence in the 2500 block of Richland Road. As Norder and Rafferty were en route, the suspects left the residence in two vehicles, with the homeowners following in a Dodge Challenger.
As the two male suspects, one in a dark colored SUV and the other in a red pickup truck, traveled in the 600 block Richland Road (west, toward Hwy 62), with the victims following close behind, at least one of the suspects opened fire on the Challenger.
Hayes and Ferguson were struck multiple times in their upper bodies, with at least one of the victims shot in the face. After Hayes was shot, the vehicle left the roadway and crashed, coming to rest in a tree line not far off the road.
The red pickup truck, which was reported stolen by a Richland Road homeowner at about 3:30 that morning, apparently became disabled just a few yards from where the Challenger wrecked. The suspect driving the pickup then got into the SUV and the suspects fled the scene toward Hwy 62.
EMS was dispatched and transported Hayes and Ferguson to Caneyville Elementary School where both victims were airlifted, Ferguson to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Hayes to University of Louisville Hospital.
The two unidentified suspects remain at large.
(Photo: Several police vehicles at the Richland Road property on Sunday night)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
