BATON ROUGE, La. July 17, 2016 (Gephardt Daily & UPI) – One of the three police officers killed in Baton Rouge, La. Sunday morning recently posted on Facebook about the difficulties of being an officer in the wake of the shooting of Alton Sterling.
The post by Montrell Jackson, 32, who leaves behind a wife and a 4-month-old baby, is going viral Sunday.
Authorities in Baton Rouge say they have identified the shooter who killed three officers and wounded three others.
The suspect, who was killed by law enforcement, has been identified as Gavin Long, a 29-year-old resident of Kansas City, Missouri.
Col. Mike Edmonson, head of the Louisiana State Police, said during an afternoon news conference there is “no active shooter” in Baton Rouge.
Two other suspects were taken into custody in West Baton Rouge Parish and are being questioned by Baton Rouge Police, WBRZ reported.
CNN reported Sunday evening the names of the three law enforcement officers killed are Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Brad Garafola, according to sources close to the department and corroborated with social media posts. Two are police officers and one is an East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy.
Jackson posted on Facebook: “I’m tired physically and emotionally. Disappointed in some family, friends, and officers for some reckless comments but hey what’s in your heart is in your heart. I still love you all because hate takes too much energy but I definitely won’t be looking at you the same. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me or my wife it was needed and much appreciated. I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me. In uniform I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat. I’ve experienced so much in my short life and these last 3 days have tested me to the core. When people you know begin to question your integrity you realize they don’t really know you at all. Look at my actions they speak LOUD and CLEAR. Finally I personally want to send prayers out to everyone directly affected by this tragedy. These are trying times. Please don’t let hate infect your heart. This city MUST and WILL get better. I’m working in these streets, so any protesters, officers, friends, family, or whoever, if you see me and need a hug or want to say a prayer. I got you.” – Montrell Jackson
Three others officers were wounded, including a 41-year-old, who is said to be in extremely critical condition at Baton Rouge General Hospital.
WBRZ TV reported the shooting began when an assailant, dressed in black with his faced covered, walked out of a convenience store carrying a long rifle. He was then reportedly walked down a nearby highway where he was confronted by police and gunfire broke out.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released the following statement Sunday morning:
“This is an unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us at a time when we need unity and healing. Rest assured, every resource available to the State of Louisiana will be used to ensure the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice. For now, I’m asking all Louisianans to join Donna and me in praying for the officers who were involved and their families as the details continue to unfold.”
Mark Clements, a resident in the area, said he had let his dogs out in the yard shortly after 8:30 a.m. when he heard roughly 10 to 12 gunshots.
Dispatch reports obtained by the Baton Rouge Advocate on police scanners show police were responding to a report of a man armed with an assault rifle near the B-Quik store on Airline Highway across the street from Hammond Aire Plaza.
About 8:45 a.m., an officer reported a “lady who came up and said there was a suspect walking with a (unintelligible) and an assault rifle out here behind the store.”
Then officers called for help.
“Shots fired, officer down, shots fired, officer down!” an officer yelled. “Got a city officer down, shots fired! Shots fired on Airline!”
Officers initially didn’t know where the shots were coming from.
Armored vehicles transported shot officers to the hospital.
Ten minutes later officers spotted a “second” shooter.
Then, report of another “officer down.”
President Barack Obama condemned the shooting as “cowardly and reprehensible,” saying “justice will be done.”
“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. And make no mistake – justice will be done,” he said.
“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.”
Obama also cautioned about politicizing the incident and using divisive rhetoric — without specifically mentioning the political conventions.
“We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric, we need to temper our words and open our hearts,” he said.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in a statement: “We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today. How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order.”
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said in a statement: “Today’s devastating assault on police officers in Baton Rouge is an assault on all of us. There is no justification for violence, for hate, for attacks on men and women who just put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and communities.
“We must not turn our backs on each other. We must not be indifferent to each other. We must all stand together to reject violence and strengthen our communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the police officers who were killed and injured today.”
The shooting comes weeks after Alton Sterling was shot dead by Baton Rouge police, sparking outrage nationwide over police relations with the black community. Sterling died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
Police said Sterling was shot after officers responded to an anonymous call about a black man in a red T-shirt who threatened the caller with a gun. Police said, “Sterling was shot during the altercation and died at the scene.” Two officers were placed on administrative leave and an investigation was launched. Protesters said police used excessive force.
“We can’t take anything for granted any more,” East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux told CNN last week.
On Tuesday, three people were arrested after Baton Rouge investigators alleged they were plotting to kill police in the city.
On Thursday, four officers of the Dallas Police Department and one from Dallas Area Rapid Transit died from wounds they received during a peaceful rally staged by participants in the “Black Lives Matter” movement, who were protesting the controversial shooting deaths of Sterling and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
