Breathitt County Sheriff Ray Clemons says it "was like Vietnam" as the gunman fired rapidly and repeatedly at authorities taking cover behind squad cars in the Sunday night shootout.
County Coroner George Griffith identified the gunman as 59-year-old Danny Johnson of Houston, Ky. He said Johnson died at a hospital of gunshot wounds.
Clemons says authorities don't know what sparked the shooting near Jackson in the eastern part of the state.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Jody Sims says two deputies and a state police trooper were shot but didn't have life-threatening wounds. The two people in the vehicle also weren't hurt seriously.
