“LSU PD has put more officers on patrol and has increased the frequency of its patrols on campus, and is supporting the city and sheriff’s law enforcement agencies”.
Advertisement
“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. This will last until we feel we don’t need it anymore”. “We don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda”.
He saw a man in a red shirt lying in an empty parking lot and “another gunman running away as more shots were being fired back and forth from several guns”.
His shooting, along with the death of a man, Philandro Castrile, after being pulled over by police in Minnesota, sparking heated protests that prompted a heavy law enforcement response that some in the region have questioned.
Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden spoke with WAFB in a phone interview: “If this is not a defining moment for us to bridge the divide and come out with a unified voice, then I don’t know what is”. We’re going to move forward. “That’s how this country gets united”.
President Barack Obama leaves the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Sunday, July 17, 2016, after speaking about the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, La.
“Around the clock news cycles and social media sometimes amplify these divisions”, Obama said.
“Everyone right now needs focus on words and actions that will unite this country”, he said.
The President also stressed – as he did after a police ambush in Dallas – the danger that police face day-to-day. “I can’t imagine the pain their community must be feeling at this hour, and our prayers are with them as they try to make sense of these senseless acts”.
Instead, Obama offered full-throated support for departments and officers, some of whom say they feel under siege. “I’m surrounded by the best of the best every single day”. He also said the country would have to “just grind it out” in solving the tensions.
It was the latest in a string of deadly incidents involving law enforcement, including the police shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge and the killing of five officers in Dallas.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pointed to what he called a “lack of leadership” as a reason for the shootings. Within minutes he issued a series of critical tweets.
“President Obama just had a news conference, but he doesn’t have a clue”.
“How the hell did we ever become the bad guys in this country?” “We are not looking good, we are not looking smart, we are not looking tough!”
Obama is expected to deliver a statement on the situation.
Advertisement
“We’re not sure of anything right now”, Baton Rouge police spokesman L’Jean McNeely told reporters near the scene, urging local residents to be on the alert for the suspects. Governor Edwards was thankful and said he was appreciative of the outreach he had already received from the Texas Department of Public Safety. “We’re grieving for each other, we’re grieving for our loss, and we’re grieving for our families”.
