Two Baton Rouge Police Department officers and one East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office deputy were killed in a shooting Sunday morning in the Louisiana capital, police said.
Two other deputies and a Baton Rouge officer were wounded in the shooting, police said at a press conference. One of the deputies is in critical condition, the sheriff said.
The gunman, identified by multiple media outlets as Gavin Eugene Long, 29, of Kansas City, Missouri, was killed at the scene by police. The officers were shot on Airline Highway about 8:40 a.m. in a commercial area on Airline Highway, police said.
Police said there is no active shooter situation in Baton Rouge and they believe the only gunman is the man killed at the scene.
Two sources have told The Advocate’s Rebekah Allen that the dead gunman, who was wearing body armor, was from Missouri.
Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson has been identified as one of the victims. Read more about him here.
This story is breaking and is still developing. Here’s what we know so far:
1. Officers Were Responding to a 911 Call Reporting a Man Wearing Black Carrying an ‘Assault Rifle’
Scene at Hammond Aire Shopping Center. Cops galore, helicopter buzzing above.
The gunman, wearing black and with his face covered, began firing “indiscriminately” Sunday morning near Hammond Aire Plaza, WBRZ reports.
The shooting was first reported about 8:40 a.m., according to police radio transmissions. The audio below, of the first 45 minutes of the incident, is courtesy of Broadcastify.com:
An officer said a woman reported a man walking with an assault rifle in the area of the B-Quik gas station on Airline Highway. The woman told the officer the man was wearing a coat and walking behind the store, according to the scanner audio.
Seconds later, an officer yells “Shots fired, officer down! Shots fired, officer down!”
Police said the shooter was not in sight and was possibly a “sniper.”
The gunman was shot just minutes after police responded.
2. Several Streets Have Been Closed & Police Say the Situation Has Been ‘Contained’
Airline highway is closed as far south as I-12. Police are in tactical gear under the overpass
Airline Highway has been closed in both directions between Goodwood Boulevard and Interstate 12, WAFB-TV reports.
Police said the situation is “contained,” but are asking for people to avoid the area, WAFB-TV reports.
State Police SWAT now on scene
Video from the scene shows a heavy police presence, with SWAT officers and other law enforcement flooding the area after the shooting.
Officers could be seen carrying rifles as helicopters circled above the scene.
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn told The Advocate the scene is still active, despite the situation being contained.
3. The Governor Called the Shooting an ‘Unspeakable & Unjustified Attack’
#lagov on the shooting of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge today:
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards called the attack an “unspeakable and unjustified attack.”
Mayor-President Kip Holden called the shooting an “ambush” and asked for prayers for the wounded officers.
The mayor, governor and police officials were at the hospital Sunday afternoon to support the wounded officers and their families.
President Barack Obama issued a statement on the shooting Sunday afternoon:
I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge. For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault. These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop.
I’ve offered my full support, and the full support of the federal government, to Governor Edwards, Mayor Holden, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. And make no mistake – justice will be done.
We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas – they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now – all of us – to be at our best.
Today, on the Lord’s day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge, with the police officers who’ve been wounded, and with the grieving families of the fallen. May God bless them all.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reacted to the shooting on social media. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, has not commented on the shooting.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown shared a message of support on Twitter.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Baton Rouge Police. @BRPD #PrayforBatonRouge
Five officers were fatally shot in Dallas in an ambush attack earlier this month.
4. The Shooting Comes After Several Days of Protests Over the Fatal Police Shooting of Alton Sterling
Baton Rouge police rush the crowd of protesters and start making arrest on July 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Getty)
The shooting comes after several days of protests over the death of Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot by police on July 5. Video of the shooting recorded by a witness was shared on social media.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The large protests have led to hundreds of arrests in Baton Rouge.
5. Police Arrested Multiple People They Say Had Been Plotting to Kill Officers in Baton Rouge Last Week
Baton Rouge Chief of Police Carl Dabadie speaks during a press conference at the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness on July 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Getty)
Baton Rouge Police announced last week that they had arrested multiple people involved in a burglary of a pawn shop tied to a threat against police officers, The Advocate reports.
Four burglars broke into a pawn shop and stole eight handguns. One suspect told police they were looking for bullets to kill officers, police said.
Police arrested four people, including a 12-year-old boy, in the case.
Just days before those arrests were announced, a gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, opened fire on police in Dallas, Texas, killing five police officers and wounding nine others, along with two civilians. Johnson was killed during a standoff with police. He told negotiators he was upset about recent police shootings and was targeting officers.
