After a similar Dallas shooting, another ex-US Marine was identified as the one who killed three cops in Baton Rouge
Police officers Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Deputy Sheriff Brad Garafola who were killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
Houston/Baton Rouge: A veteran black US Marine killed three police officers and wounded three others in Baton Rouge before being shot dead, nearly two weeks after a high-profile police shooting of an African-American man in the city that sparked country-wide protests and led to the massacre of five law enforcement officers in Dallas.
Police officers Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Deputy Sheriff Brad Garafola who were killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday. Pics/AFP
ADVERTISEMENT
The African-American gunman, identified as 29-year-old Gavin Eugene Long, dressed in black and armed with a rifle, shot the police officers in an “ambush-style” attack on Sunday.
According to reports, the gunman, served in the US Marines for five years as a data network specialist, and attained the rank of sergeant. His Iraq tour lasted from June 2008 to January 2009.
The motive of the shooting was not known but comes amid spiralling tensions across the city and the country between the black community and police amid the ambush on Dallas police officers where a sniper killed five officers.
Officials confirmed that three law enforcement officers died while three others were wounded during the shooting on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The gunman was shot dead minutes later.
Authorities initially believed that two other assailants might be at large, but hours later said that no other active shooters were in the city.
Police received a call of “suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle,” a source said, adding that when police arrived, the man opened fire.
President Barack Obama condemned the shooting as “cowardly” assault and called for national unity.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
