Condemning the killing of three police officers and injury to three others during a gun shooting spree in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, President Barack Obama said violence against law enforcement is violence against the nation and called on Americans to “temper our words and open our hearts”.
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Authorities say two city police officers and a sheriff’s deputy died in the shooting Sunday morning, and the gunman was killed by law enforcement.
Gavin Eugene Long, a black man whose last known address was in Kansas City, Missouri, carried out the attack Sunday on his 29th birthday.
As the investigation continues into Sunday’s shooting which left three Baton Rouge officers dead, we are learning more about the gunman.
Long joined the Marine corps in 2008 and worked as a data network specialist, according to the US military. He served in Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009, and records show he received several medals during his military career, including one for good conduct. “I have been in this business a long time and this is unprecedented”, the official said. The man also discusses the protests in Baton Rouge and what he perceived as oppression.
Almost 2½ minutes after the first report of an officer getting shot, an officer on the scene is heard saying police do not know the shooter’s location. The post went on to reference YouTube videos about Sterling and “standing up when you know you are right”.
In a video posted July 10, the person making the post says he’s speaking from Dallas after five police officers were fatally shot there during a protest of the deaths of black men in encounters with law enforcement. “It’s not going to bring him back”, he said.
Baton Rouge was already tense following the death of Alton Sterling, a black man killed in a confrontation with police earlier this month, and several subsequent protests.
“We are not ready to say he acted alone”, state police spokesman Major Doug Cain said Sunday.
The law enforcement officers have been identified as: Officer Montrell Jackson, 32, of Baton Rouge; Officer Matthew Gerald, 41, of Denham Springs; and Deputy Brad Garafola, 45.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says she condemns the attack in Baton Rouge “in the strongest terms possible” and says federal law enforcement agencies are helping on the ground. The killing was captured on cellphone video.
“I swear to God I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me”, Jackson wrote.
“If what I got in me… the courage, the tenacity, the bravery… if that spreads, then it’s over”, he said.
He wrote that he was “disappointed in some family, friends, and officers” for their “reckless comments” in the wake of the Dallas shooting and urged the people affected by the tragedy to not “let hate infect your hearts”.
Lonnie Jordan, Jackson’s father-in-law, spoke to reporters on the front lawn of Jackson’s house.
“I’m exhausted physically and emotionally”, the post starts, “Disappointed in some family, friends, and officers for some reckless comments but hey, what’s in your heart is in your heart”. A third officer who had a graze wound to his neck was released from a hospital on Sunday.
“I’ve experienced so much in my short life and these last 3 days have tested me to the core”, the posting read.
Finally, I want to thank you, our LSU community, for the way in which you have handled these hard times, the respect you’ve shown each other, and for the shining example you have set.
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“At the Department of Justice, we are determined to do everything we can to bridge divides, to heal rifts, to restore trust, and to ensure that every American feels respected, supported, and safe”, Lynch said in her remarks. “You set the tone, I’m proud to know you”.
