BATON ROUGE, LA – JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department says three law enforcement officers are dead and three others injured after a mass shooting along a highway where previous protests were held. The gunman, Gavin Eugene Long, a former Marine from Missouri who had railed against police and praised the Dallas police shooter online, is dead.
A woman captured part of the shooting on video that she posted to Facebook, said The Advocate, which posted it here.
Officer Matthew Gerald with his wife and two children. (Facebook)
Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald, of the Baton Rouge Police Department, were murdered. The third deceased officer, a sheriff’s deputy, was identified as Brad Garafolo.
Long was wearing black and a mask when he lured the officers into an ambush along a Baton Rouge highway, CNN said. Read more about him here, including his military background and incendiary writings, which included calls for revolutionary bloodshed.
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department posted an update on Facebook early on:
#BREAKING: CBS News Confirms third police officer has died
The UK Telegraph said the gunman was seen “walking down the side of a road carrying an assault rifle.”
BATON ROUGE, LA – JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
As many as 30 shots may have rang out.
#BatonRouge Police: We believe there are “multiple suspects” and “one suspect is deceased” t.co/LyKgkW1pLi t.co/sHy7b71uBy
#Breaking: Police received call of “suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle,” when they arrived he opened fire.
The mass murder of Baton Rouge police officers comes after a series of protests in the wake of the shooting death of a Baton Rouge man, Alton Sterling, by Baton Rouge police officers. It also comes only days after police disrupted a plot to kill Baton Rouge police officers that they said included a 12-year-old.
BATON ROUGE, LA – JULY 17: East Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Louisiana’s governor vowed to bring anyone involved to justice.
Update: One suspect, three police officers dead after a shooting incident in Baton Rouge t.co/Z40fh3gF4e
Here are more photos and videos from news reports of the shootings:
BATON ROUGE, LA – JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
The #BatonRouge shooter described as black male with body armor t.co/OEBlVd7SUr
Police say authorities are seeking more than one suspect in Baton Rouge police shooting: t.co/yOvCkxVJIV
#BREAKING: Baton Rouge police respond to report of officers down.
t.co/GUiNTGSj28
The #BatonRouge, Louisiana shooting comes roughly 10 days since the Dallas shooting t.co/LyKgkW1pLi t.co/hfgDKecFvs
“They said around 30 shots rang out” – local resident James Ikerd on #BatonRouge shootings
t.co/q4tQxhPmz6 t.co/0872YG1W0q
LSU Police armed with rifles several blocks away from the scene @WBRZ
State Police SWAT now on scene
#Breaking Reports: At least one officer shot in Baton Rouge mile away from police HQ t.co/2VsKKhZDxQ
#BREAKING: Several police officers shot in Baton Rouge, TV station reports
Police say 6 U.S. officers were injured, 3 of whom are dead after a shooting in #BatonRouge t.co/LyKgkW1pLi
Watch footage of the shooting in Baton Rouge in which at least two police officers were killed t.co/hurK8Le9ih
Within the last minute, at least a dozen marked and unmarked police units have flown by @WBRZ
Stay tuned here for more updates.