Danny Harold Asher Wanted in Fatal Shooting at Bubby Combs Apartments

Perry County authorities said a warrant was issued for 43-year-old Danny Harold Asher after the fatal shooting of Ryan Huff at the Bubby Combs Apartments near 15 Darfork Road. Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle and responding deputies have identified Asher by name and asked the public not to approach him, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Sheriff Engle said deputies were called at approximately 10 a.m. Tuesday to an altercation at the Bubby Combs apartment building and found a man with a gunshot wound to his chest area. The man was identified as Ryan Huff; investigators said the warrant for Asher is related to Huff’s death. Officials have not released formal charge language from the warrant and described the case as a deadly shooting as investigations continue.

Perry County Sheriff’s Department, Kentucky State Police and Hazard City Police have been conducting an active search for suspects in multiple areas of the county and have followed up on several tips. Sheriff Engle said law enforcement “responded up to the Dollar General in Happy and we just had missed them. We looked on the surveillance video and did verify that they had just been there at the Dollar Store,” indicating investigators are tracing movements after the incident.

Residents at Bubby Combs Apartments told reporters that those involved did not live in the complex but were known to hang around the property. Donnie Napier, a resident at the apartment building, said, “I don’t care what that boy did. He didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves to be gunned down like that.” Perry County Schools placed R.W. Combs Elementary on a short lockdown while officers searched the area Tuesday, school and law-enforcement officials confirmed.

Local postings and a public-safety bulletin identified Asher’s last known address as the Bonnyman community; some outlets described him as wanted “in connection with a deadly shooting,” while other coverage used the phrasing “man wanted for murder after Perry County shooting.” Investigators said motive is unknown and it remains unclear whether alcohol or drugs played a role.

Authorities reiterated that anyone with information about Asher’s whereabouts should call 911. Separately, an alert issued Sunday night by the Perry County Emergency Management Agency in the Du Quoin area of Illinois urged residents to “shelter in place and call 911 if you observe any suspicious activity,” but officials in Kentucky said there is no confirmed link between that Illinois alert and the Perry County, Ky., homicide investigation. Law-enforcement agencies in Perry County, Ky., said the search is ongoing and that they will release additional details as they can.