At least three police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge on Sunday morning, in what the town’s mayor calls an ambush attack. Three other officers were wounded, one of whom is in critical condition.
The attack took place less than two weeks after the death of Alton Sterling,
a 37-year-old black man, at the hands of police sparked protests and
triggered a Justice Department civil rights investigation. It also comes
a little over a week after five police officers were shot dead during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas.
Baton Rouge police responded to a call around 8:30 a.m. A gunman
shot at the officers when they arrived at a location less than a mile
from police headquarters.
The suspect is dead. Police initially believed there were multiple suspects, but later said the dead shooter is the only gunman.
The gunman was named Gavin E. Long, a U.S. law enforcement official said. He was a 29-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri. Another law enforcement official described Long as a “black separatist.”