We’re closing the blog now. Thanks for reading.
SUMMARY
Before we wind up the blog, here is a summary of the key events of the day in Baton Rouge.
- Three police officers were shot and killed by a gunman after responding to reports of a shooter with an assault rifle.
- The gunman, named as former US marine Gavin Long, was shot dead by police.
- Long had served in Iraq but had created an online alias and railed against police violence against African Americans
- The three policemen killed included black officer of 10 years standing Montrell Jackson
- Jackson wrote an emotional Facebook post on the difficulty of being a black officer in Baton Rouge in the wake of the killing by police of Alton Sterling earlier this month
- President Obama condemned the killings and said America ‘must act to create unity’
- Two ‘persons of interest’ detained in the wake of the shootings were later released without charge
Two 'persons of interest' are released
Two “persons of interests” who were detained earlier in relation to the shootings have been released, state police said.
Major Doug Cain said late on Sunday night that the individuals from the nearby town of Addis were questioned and released but that the investigation was still ongoing, Associated Press reported. He said no charges were filed against them.
Cain said authorities are still looking to see if the man who opened fire on police in Baton Rouge had any help “indirectly, directly here or at home”.
AP has also reported that some police departments in the area are now doubling up their patrols in the wake of the shooting.
Switching back again to the police victims of the shootings, it has emerged that one of the dead officers had only recently joined the force.
Matthew Gerald, 41, had served for the city’s force for less than a year, according to the department’s Facebook page.
The post praised Gerald and his colleague Montrell Jackson, who had been with the force for a decade.
Both of these men were assigned to the Uniform Patrol Bureau and were great examples of what it means to protect and serve – a mission they demonstrated through their work at the department and in their daily lives.
The other officer killed was East Baton Rouge parish sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola, 45, a father of four, local media reported, citing sheriff Sid Gautreaux and Garafola’s wife, Tonja.
“He loved us so much,” Tonja Garafola has told the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper. “He didn’t deserve this.”
The sheriff’s office said that two deputies – Nicholas Tullier, 41, and Bruce Simmons, 51 – were injured in the attack. Tullier was in critical condition while Simmons has non-life threatening injuries.
A third police officer was injured but has not yet been identified.
President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the killings, saying there was no justification for the use of violence.
Read the full story on the president’s response to the shootings here:
Shooter had urged 'fight back' against police violence
Our reporter Jon Swaine has updated his profile piece about the man identified as the Baton Rouge gunman, Gavin Long.
Long, who used the pseudonym “Cosmo Setepenra”, left behind an online trail featuring complaints about the treatment of African Americans by police, Jon writes, including one video in which he urged black people to “fight back”.
Long also described the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas earlier this month as “justice” and urged urged black men to make sacrifices for their race.
“I thought my own thoughts, I made my own decisions – I’m the one who’s gotta listen to the judgment,” he said in another clip.
Read Jon Swaine’s fully updated piece here:
One of the dead policemen, Montrell Jackson, posted an emotional message on Facebook in the days following the killing of Alton Sterling after a scuffle with Baton Rouge police at a convenience store.
In the post, Jackson describes the difficulty of being a black man and a police officer in the city in the wake of Sterling’s death.
“I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me,” Jackson wrote. “I’ve experienced so much in my short life and these last 3 days have tested me to the core.”
Three police victims named
The three police officers killed in the shootings have been named.
Montrell Jackson, 32, was described by his father-in-law Lonnie Jordan as a “gentle giant ... tall and stout and formidable looking”, but with a peaceful disposition.
Jordan, speaking to reporters on the front lawn of Jackson’s house in the rural Livingston parish, said his son-in-law was “always about peace” and had been working long hours since the death of Alton Sterling and the resulting protests.
The other two victims were Matthew Gerald, 41, and sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola, 45.
More details are emerging from various media outlets about the shooting suspect Gavin Long.
Long served in the Marines for five years, from August 2005 to August 2010, according to a report in the New York Times, citing Yvonne Carlock, the deputy public affairs officer for the US Marines. Long was deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009, the Times reported.
Reuters reported that public records showed Long had lived in Kansas City and Grandview, Missouri. He had also lived in San Diego and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Long was on the University of Alabama dean’s honor list in 2012, school records showed, acording to Reuters.
Gunman 'was former marine'
Gavin Long, the man named by police as the Baton Rouge shooter, left an online trail which indicated he used the alias “Cosmo Setepenra”, my colleague Jon Swaine reports here.
It is believed Long was a former US marine who served in Iraq.
Jon writes:
An author profile for Cosmo Setepenra described him as a US Marines veteran who reached the rank of sergeant (E-5) . CBS reported on Sunday that Gavin Long was discharged from the marines in 2010 after reaching the same rank.
A Facebook page in the name of Cosmo Setepenra was taken down late on Sunday afternoon, following the shootings in Louisiana, which left three officers dead and three wounded, one critically. It was unclear why the page was taken down.
An image of ‘Cosmo Setepenra’ taken from Facebook. Photograph: Facebook.
A recent posting by the account’s owner had stated: “Violence is not THE answer (it is a answer), but at what point do you stand up so that you and your people dont become the Native Americans...EXTINCT?”
Two photographs posted on the page featured black children holding a piece of paper reading: “JUSTICE FOR ALL THE BLACK AMERICANS.
Read Jon’s full report here:
Law enforcement converge on house in Kansas City – reports
Armed law enforcement officers have converged on a house in Kansas City, Missouri where it is believed that the shooting suspect, Gavin Long, lived or used to live.
Some officers had weapons drawn from behind trees at the house listed in Long’s name, Associated Press reported. Other officers took cover behind cars.
A reporter from the Kansas City Star newspaper had earlier knocked at the house and was “met at the door by a man with a long gun who declined to comment”.
Here's where things stand
- Three police officers were killed by a gunman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday morning. Three more were injured, one critically.
- State police colonel Mike Edmondson said in a briefing that authorities believe the gunman was killed at the scene.
- However, two other “persons of interest” have been detained in the nearby town of Addis, Louisiana, according to the Associated Press.
- Several outlets, including local media, CBS, NBC and CNN are all reporting that the gunman was a man named Gavin Long, of Kansas City, Missouri, all citing anonymous law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation. The Guardian could not independently confirm these reports.
- President Obama said that Americans “must act to create unity.” Speaking from the White House Sunday afternoon, Obama said that the attack “underscores the danger that police across the country confront every single day.”
- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tweeted soon after Obama finished speaking, saying that America was “a divided crime scene,” though exactly what he meant was unclear.
- Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards called the acts an “unspeakable” tragedy. “The hatred just has to stop,” he said in a press conference. “I wish the command of the English language that I have were adequate to the task to convey the full range of the emotions I am feeling.”
- “This is a sad day in Baton Rouge,” mayor Kip Holden has said, urging people to “let peace prevail”.
Updated
Obama: Americans must act to create unity
Obama says that it falls on Americans to make “the decision to make sure that our best selves are reflected across America, not our worst. That’s up to us.”
“We have our divisions, and they are not new. Around the clock news cycles and social media can intensify these divisions,” he says, but adds “is so important that everyone, regardless of race or politics or profession, [that] everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further.”
“We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric,” he continues. “We need to temper our words and open our hearts. All of us. We need what we saw in Dallas this week, as a community came tother to restore order.
He urges calm and unity at the coming political conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia, and asks the people planning to attend to temper their rhetoric.
“My fellow Americans only we can prove through words and through deeds that we cannot be divided, and we’re going to have to keep on doing it again, and again, and again. … Only we can prove that we have the grace and the character and the common humanity to end this kind of senseless violence.”
Obama: attack was against all US
Barack Obama is addressing the nation on the attacks.
“Right now we don’t know the motive of the killer. we don’t know whether the killer set out to target police officers or whether he mowed them down [for another reason].”
But the attack, Obama says, “underscores the danger that police across the country confront every single day.”
“We as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement,” he continues, adding that attacks on police are “attacks against all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible”.
He says he offered the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of Baton Rogue his full support, and that he spoke with attorney general Loretta Lynch.
“Most of all our hearts go out to the families who are still grieving, our prayers go out to the officer still fighting for his life.”
“This happens far too often,” he adds. “Whenever this happens, wherever this happens, you feel it.”
“Five days ago I traveled to Dallas for the memorial service of the officers who were slain there. I said that that killer would not be the last person who tries to make us turn on each other.” He adds that this killer likely will not be the last either.
“It remains upon us to ensure that they fail.”
Updated
Police detain 'persons of interest'
Major Doug Cain has said that although police believe only one gunman killed police, “we are not ready to say he acted alone,” the AP reports.
Cain said that two “persons of interest” had been detained in another town called Addis, which is near Baton Rouge. He provided no more details.
Reports: gunman named
Local media, CBS, NBC and CNN are all reporting that the gunman was a man named Gavin Long, of Kansas City, Missouri, all citing anonymous law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation.
The Guardian could not independently confirm these reports – calls to Louisiana police were not immediately answered – and the state police superintendent explicitly warned that police would not confirm anything that did not come from him or other leaders.
“If it does not come from myself, the chief of police, [the US attorney] or the East Baton Rouge sheriff,” colonel Mike Edmonson said, “we cannot confirm it as being factual.”
Updated
Briefing summary
The police briefing has ended with no details regarding the identity of the dead gunman or any possible motive for the shooting with police.
- Police do not believe a shooter is actively threatening the community, said state police Colonel Mike Edmonson.
- “We believe the person who shot and killed our officers, he is the person who was shot and killed at the scene,“ Edmonson said, adding that police “do not believe we have any other shooter holed up.”
- Sheriff Sid Gautreaux gave a few details about the victims of the shooting. He said two Baton Rouge police officers, 41- and 32-years old, died of injuries, as did a 45-year-old sheriff’s deputy.
- One person remains in critical condition of the three other people injured. Two deputies were wounded, 41- and 51-years-old, and one 41-year-old officer was wounded and remains in critical condition.
- Edmonson said that at about 8.40am officers responded to a call of a man in black carrying a weapon near a convenience store. Two minutes later they had reports of shots fired, and not long after reports of an officer down. Officers exchanged fire with a car wash and killed him at the scene.
- Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards promised to bring “these perpetrators, if there’s more than one, to justice”.
- The officials took no questions but promised another briefing at 1pm local time (2pm ET) Monday.
Updated
Governor: this was an unspeakable tragedy
The governor speaks last. “The hatred just has to stop,” he says. “I wish the command of the English language that I have were adequate to the task to convey the full range of the emotions I am feeling.”
He says that the tragedy is “unspeakable” that the officers “were taken out the way that they were”.
“I want to reassure everyone here in Baton Rouge and around the state that we are doing everything possible to make sure that people are protected.”
He says that everything will be done to bring “these perpetrators, if there’s more than one, to justice”. He also thanks the president.
“We have to do better. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. And the people who carried out this attack, these individuals, they do not represent the people of Baton Rouge, or of Louisiana, or of our country.
“There simply is no place for more violence. It doesn’t help anyone, it doesn’t further the conversation, it doesn’t address any injustice perceived or real,” he goes on. “And we are not going to tolerate any more violence.”
He invites people around the US to pray for the officers still in hospitals, to “join with the folks of Louisiana in solidarity” – and to have a “constructive dialogue” with each other.
None of the officials take questions.
Updated
“This is a sad day in Baton Rouge,” mayor Kip Holden says, urging people to “let peace prevail”.
“The president has acknowledged this violence and will reiterate those things. The people that you see here today, let me say unequivocally … The president has responded to the needs of Baton Rouge. Not only that, the agencies you see here have always been partners with the state police, the sheriff’s office and the city police.
“We are one family, all seeking justice for all of our people. So let me thank the president and Ms Jarrett for the calls we got.”
He concludes by vowing to serve the families of the officers killed, and by thanking those officers.
Updated
“We’ll get through this as a family, we’ll get through this as a community,” Dabidie continues, holding back tears. “This is not going to tarnish this city or this department. We are going to move forward.”
US attorney Walt Green then says that “all federal law enforcement assets that are needed will be given to this investigation.”
“We have agents from the ATF, the FBI as well as the United States marshals office as well as from my office assisting with the investigation until justice is served.”
The sheriff makes an emotional statement: “With God’s help, we will get through this.
“To me this is not so much about gun control as it is about what’s in men’s hearts. And until we come together as a nation, as a people, to heal as a people. If we don’t do that and this madness continues, we will surely perish as a people.”
Baton Rouge chief Carl Dabidie asks for prayers for the community, saying that the officers killed were all veterans of the force. “This is a united front, make no mistake about that.”
“Public safety remains our priority and we will continue to do our job in the light of what happened.”
Police describe timeline
At about 8.40am, “a guy carrying a weapon, carrying a rifle, [was] walking in that particular area”of the convenience store, Edmonson says.
“At approximately 8.40am officers observed an individual wearing all black near a beauty supply store,” he says of the initial report. About two minutes later shots were fired, he says. “At approximately 8.44am reports were received of officers down on the ground. At 8.46am reports were received of a suspect wearing all black standing near the car wash.”
“Officers responded, engaged the suspect, and the suspect died at the scene.”
Multiple officers were taken to the hospital. Three died from injuries – two from Baton Rouge police, and one 45 year old sheriff’s deputy.
Two deputies were injured, as was an officer, and one of those three is in critical condition. Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says the community is grieving. “As law enforcement we are a family, and we stand here together, as you can see. But the number one priority is the protection of our community.”
Updated
State police: no active shooter in Baton Rouge
“There is not an active shooter scenario in Baton Rouge, no active scenario that involves a shooter in the city of Baton Rouge,” Edmonson says.
“We believe that the person that shot and killed our officers, that he is the person who was shot and killed at the scene.”
“We do believe based on information, we have we believe the person who shot and killed our officers he is the person who was shot and killed at the scene.”
He says police “do not believe we have any other shooter holed up”.
Updated
Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards with state police Colonel Mike Edmonson, the superintendent, then Baton Rouge sheriff Sid Gautreaux.
Major Doug Cain says they’re going to provide everything they know.
Edmonson speaks first. “We want and need your prayers, Baton Rouge is in need of your prayers right now.”
He says it is an active investigation, “with a lot of moving parts right now”.
“Let me make something clear right now, you’re getting a lot of information right now, interviewing a lot of people … If it does not come from myself, the chief of polcie … or the East Baton Rouge sheriff … we cannot confirm it as being factual.”
He says there’s going to be another press conference on Monday at 1pm local time.
The city of Baton Rouge is soliciting tips in the investigation as officers continue to search for suspects that they believe are still at large.
1/2: If you have any tips that may help in our investigation, please contact #BatonRouge Crime Stoppers - call 344-STOP (7867)
— City of Baton Rouge (@TheCityofBR) July 17, 2016
2/2: You can also text any tips to #BatonRouge Crime Stoppers by sending "CS225 plus your message" to 274637 (CRIMES)
— City of Baton Rouge (@TheCityofBR) July 17, 2016
And Steve Hardy, a reporter with the Louisiana paper the Advocate, tweets that there are plans for a vigil this evening in Baton Rouge.
St. Amant fire is organizing the first memorial I've heard about - 6 p.m. at the station on Stringer Bridge road. Bring candles. All welcome
— Steve Hardy (@SteveRHardy) July 17, 2016
Barack Obama has called Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden to learn the latest on the investigation, a White House official has told reporters.
From the official:
The President pledged any support from the federal government that is needed by local authorities. He also offered his condolences on behalf of the country to the families of the officers who were killed.
Obama has announced that he will address the nation at 4.30pm ET, just after an update from the governor of Louisiana at 4pm, (3pm local time).
FBI agents are on the scene in Baton Rouge and assisting with the investigation, attorney general Loretta Lynch has said in a statement.
“I have been briefed on the ongoing situation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I will continue to monitor events throughout the day. Although information about this morning’s incident is still coming in, we do know that at least three officers are feared dead and several others are wounded. Agents from the FBI and ATF are on the scene, and the Department of Justice will make available victim services and federal funding support, and will provide investigative assistance to the fullest extent possible.
“For the second time in two weeks, multiple law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty. There is no place in the Untied States for such appalling violence, and I condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms. I pledge the full support of the Department of Justice as the investigation unfolds. Our hearts and prayers are with the fallen and wounded officers, their families, and the entire Baton Rouge community in this extraordinarily difficult time.”
Updated
The US president Barack Obama has condemned “in the strongest sense of the word” the shootings.
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 civilised 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.
Donald Trump had previously blamed the shootings on a “lack of leadership”.
We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today. How many law enforcement and people have to...https://t.co/pPNrzG8kEa
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2016
Updated
Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson, has pleaded with the public to report “anything suspicious” – namely anyone with “long guns, rifles, hand guns” or who was “dressed in black, “army fatigues” or a mask.
“We don’t have any specific detail about what transpired,” he said. “We do believe it’s more than one suspect.”
He stressed that “we’re not sure of anything right now” when asked whether the shooting could be linked to recent protests against police
He added that authorities are still trying to contact family of the killed officers.
The nephew of Alton Sterling, the black man whose killing by white police officers in Baton Rouge prompted protests, says he condemns the subsequent shootings of police officers.
Terrance Carter told the Associated Press that his family just wanted things to be peaceful and said his uncle would not have wanted to see violence follow his own death.
It remains unclear what prompted today’s shootings.
The third injured officer is in a non-life threatening condition, medical staff have said, according to Reuters.
Some updates via Baton Rouge’s WAFB TV station:
Firstly, a man appears to have been arrested after confronting police officers investigating the shootings. Its reporter at the scene said a white man with no shirt on was Tasered after walking towards police and pointing and yelling. It’s unclear why he approached the officers or whether there was a link to the shootings.
Secondly, a heavy storm appears to be heading for the area and is likely to hamper the search for the two suspects believed to be at large.
Updated
Reports circulating online that a fourth officer has died are incorrect, according to local media:
Law enforcement says media reports saying a 4th officer have died are incorrect. Three officers have died. #BRShooting
— Rebekah Allen (@rebekahallen) July 17, 2016
The Baton Rouge mayor Kip Holden has suggested the officers may have been ambushed. He told MSNBC news: “The initial call was shots fired. Whenever an officer hears those words, those two words, the response is immediate, everybody in that area goes to that scene.
“I’m not sure whether it is related to [protests] but I can tell you the rhetoric that’s been spewed … I have to believe that some of that is related to that.
“Basically it was like an ambush style deal. We responded to a call and there’s this jerk that’s out there firing on our police officers. This is in an area that’s a mile from police headquarters.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy: "With our heart, we all grieve" https://t.co/LyKgkW1pLi #BatonRouge https://t.co/B51Lr0l2Bg
— CNN (@CNN) July 17, 2016
This has not been confirmed by police but there are reports that the officers were responding to calls that shots had already been fired:
Local #BatonRouge media- Witness says he believes there was a shootout between two groups and then police showed up.https://t.co/Ins56Lhd28
— Brandon Pope ABC 57 (@BpopeTV) July 17, 2016
This from a journalist at Baton Rouge’s the Advocate:
I'm told @LouisianaGov, @BRPD chief, @EBRSheriff & metro council members inside #OLOL with families of fallen officers @theadvocatebr
— Hilary Scheinuk (@hscheinukphoto) July 17, 2016
“OLOL” refers to Our Lady of the Lake, a medical centre in Baton Rouge.
The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, has asked to be updated throughout the day as more details become available and has offered any assistance necessary to local officials, the Associated Press reports.
Obama spent most of last week focused on trying to reduce tensions and helping build trust between police and the communities they serve.
The US president attended a memorial service for five Dallas police officers and also led a lengthy meeting with leaders from police organisations, community activists and elected officials.
He also spoke by telephone to the families of two black men shot in separate incidents in Baton Rouge and St Paul, in Minnesota.
More details on the condition of the three injured officers are now coming through. Reuters is reporting that one is in “critical” and another is in “fair” condition. The status of the third is unknown, the news agency reports.
Baton Rouge police corporal L’Jean McKneely has just given a press conference in which he confirmed “multiple officers were shot, we do have some that were killed. That’s what I know for sure right now.”
He also confirmed that one suspect had been killed. “We’re securing the area with a deceased suspect, a suspect that has been killed. We’re making sure there aren’t any explosives in the area.”
McKneely said that police were using a bomb-defusing robot to secure the scene, and make sure there were no explosives on or around the deceased suspect.
McKneely said the first priorities for police were “safety for officers and safety for the community” after which they would gather all information they could to aid their investigation. He added that Baton Rouge police and the sheriff’s department were being joined by federal law enforcement and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The shooting took place in Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, at about 9am Sunday.
Updated
Three police officers dead; one suspect dead, two others may be at large, confirm police
Three law enforcement officers are confirmed dead and three injured after a gunfight in Baton Rouge, the East Baton Rouge sheriff’s department has confirmed.
The sheriff’s department also confirmed that one suspect is dead and officers believe “two others may be at large”.
“At approximately 9:00 this morning Baton Rouge Police officers and East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies were involved in a shooting incident on Airline Highway near Old Hammond Highway. Multiple officers from both agencies sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals.
“Please be advised Airline Highway both lanes is currently shut down from Goodwood to Old Hammond. Old Hammond is closed to Tara Boulevard. At this point in time the scene is still active. We are advising the public to please take an alternate route and steer clear of the area. Those in the area are asked to remain indoors and contact law enforcement immediately if they see anything suspicious,” the department said.
Responses from Baton Rouge leaders are beginning to come through.
John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana tweeted the need for unity and healing in light of the “unspeakable and unjustified attack”.
#lagov on the shooting of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge today: pic.twitter.com/BU3B4Iznbe
— Gov John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) July 17, 2016
State representative C. Denise Marcelle, speaking to WAFB-TV called on the Baton Rouge community not to protest today, saying it was a day for prayer, not protest.
“We’re not Ferguson, we’re not Dallas,” she said.
Marcelle spoke of the tension in the city over the last week after the shooting of Alton Sterling, a black man who was killed by a white Louisiana police officer following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store last Tuesday.
Officers had been called to the store after an anonymous caller said a man outside the store had threatened him with a gun.
The owner of the store, Abdule Muflahi, told WAFB-TV that the first officer used a Taser on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. Muflahi said that as Sterling fought to get the officer off him the first officer shot him “four to six times”.
Video of the shooting sparked outrage and on Tuesday night about 150 protesters took to the streets chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace”.
Marcelle said she had spoken to the owner of the store this morning after the shootingwho had asked for people not to come to the store today to protest.
Several officers shot, feared dead - police and local media reports
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the ongoing situation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two police officers have been killed and several others injured in a shooting, local media has reported.
“Law enforcement is working a shooting incident involving officers,” Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.
The shooting took place at about 9am Sunday on a stretch of Airline Highway, which has been shut down and declared an active scene. Hicks advised the public to steer clear of the area.
A police spokesperson told the CBS that “several officers were struck by gunfire” but he did not know “the extent of injury”.
Mayor Kip Holden also called the local network, and said: “there were a number of officers who have been injured, a number have been taken to Our Lady of the Lake hospital.”
“The situation is still very very fluid,” he added. “We’re trying to find out what happened, which is going to take several more hours.”
Baton Rouge has been racked by tense protests in recent weeks following the shooting deaths of a black man, Alton Sterling, by a police officer, and then the killings of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, a few days later. “Common sense needs to prevail, we need to be the great city that this is,” Holden said.
Updated
