Obama calls Baton Rouge officials, families

BATON ROUGE — Three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers investigating a report of a man with an assault rifle were killed Sunday, less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police here in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide.

Three other officers were wounded, one critically. Police said the gunman, identified as Gavin Long, 29, was killed at the scene. Long, who was black, served in the Marines from 2005 to 2010, reaching the rank of sergeant. He deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009, according to military records.

Although he was believed to be the only person who fired at officers, authorities said they were unsure whether he had some kind of help.

"We are not ready to say he acted alone," state police spokesman Major Doug Cain said. Two "persons of interests" were detained in the nearby town of Addis.

The Latest on the fatal shooting of three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (all times local):

8 p.m.

Hundreds have gathered on the sprawling campus of a Baton Rouge church for a candlelight vigil honoring a police officer shot to death Sunday.

Monday night's ceremony for 41-year-old Matthew Gerald is taking place at Healing Place Church. Associate pastor Johnny Green said Gerald had been a member of the church. He said Gerald's family was present but had declined media interviews.

Gerald was a Baton Rouge rookie police officer who had just begun his new career after stints in the military. Another Baton Rouge officer and an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy also died. Another deputy was in critical condition.

Prayer services and vigils are being held around the Baton Rouge area this week.

The shooter, 29-year-old Gavin Long of Kansas City, Missouri, died in Sunday's gunfight.

6:15 p.m.

President Barack Obama has called authorities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the families of three law enforcement officers killed this weekend to offer his condolences.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama on Monday called Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, as well as the families of Officers Matthew Gerald and Montrell Jackson, and Deputy Brad Garafola. He also pledged federal support for the ongoing investigation into Sunday's attack, Earnest said.

The calls came as Obama also ordered flags at all government buildings to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims.

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5:45 p.m.

President Barack Obama has ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings until sunset on Friday to honor the police officers shot in Baton Rouge.

The proclamation says the flags will be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect for the victims of the attack, which killed three officers and injured three.

The order also applies to all military posts, naval stations and naval vessels, as well as to U.S. embassies and consular offices around the world.

In the past few weeks alone, the president also ordered the flag lowered after the nightclub shooting in Orlando, the killings of police officers in Dallas and the truck attack in Nice, France.

3:25 p.m.

East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux says his deputy Nicholas Tullier is in "very, very critical condition."

The sheriff says "It's in God's hands. We'll just have to see what happens but he's not in good shape at all."

He says deputy Bruce Simmons meanwhile just got a titanium rod to replace an arm bone shattered by the gunman's bullet.

The sheriff also said his slain deputy Brad Garafola "went down fighting" and "returned fire to the very end" as he tried to protect a wounded police officer.

He says surveillance video showed Garafola returning fire from a prone position as bullets hit the concrete around him. Only after the deputy died did the shooter return to the wounded officer and kill him with two more bullets, at close range.

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3:10 p.m.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie says "that shot that our SWAT team made was a helluva shot but it had to be made."

The chief was describing the long-distance shot that killed the gunman. He said he's got no doubt that the gunman would have gone next to police headquarters to take more lives.

Dabadie says police have been questioned about militarized tactics, but says these killings show that "we are up against a force that is not playing by the rules."

He says "they did not play by the rules in Dallas and they did not play by the rules here."

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2:45 p.m.

FBI Agent Jeff Sallet says federal investigators are actively trying to figure out if gunman Gavin Long had any associates or support for his plan to come to Baton Rouge and kill police.

Sallet says the agency is committing all resources necessary to identifying any co-conspirators or facilitators and bring them to justice."

He cited what he called seven key words from the Pledge of Allegiance: "One Nation, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice For All."

Indivisible — he said — that means "Baton Rouge unified, Louisiana unified, America unified. This will only make us stronger; We will work tirelessly to ensure safety in this community and throughout the nation."

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2:40 p.m.

Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux has described how the gunman killed his deputies at close range and was moving in on two other officers after wounding him when he was finally taken down.

He praises the Baton Rouge City SWAT team officer for saving more lives by firing from a long distance, through structures, at the gunman who was closing in for more kills.

Gautreaux says he's convinced that if the officer hadn't killed the gunman at the scene, "we would have had two other slain deputies and that individual would have had the opportunity to get into his car and go after other targets."

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2:30 p.m.

Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson says the gunman who shot six police officers in Baton Rouge clearly targeted law enforcement, carrying two riles and a 9 mm handgun in Sunday's ambush.

Edmonson showed overhead maps of the area to explain how Gavin Long snuck up behind police officers and shot them at close range.

He says another deputy had spotted the gunman's car and was about to run his license plate when the gunman shot the deputy — "that's the one critically injured, fighting for his life right now."

Edmonson says a responding SWAT team officer finally shot the gunman from about 100 yards away.

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2:15 p.m.

Kip Holden is the Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, where three officers were killed and three others wounded in an ambush by a gunman from Kansas City Sunday morning.

At a news conference, he thanked the mayor of Orlando, Florida for reaching out to him in support just weeks after that city's nightclub attack. Holden also cited the biblical figure of Job, who said "I will rise again."

"You have slain some law enforcement officials," the mayor said, but "this city, this state and this nation will rise again."

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2:10 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the shooter who killed three police officers in Baton Rouge "came in here from somewhere else to do harm to our community."

He says "this was "a diabolical attack on the very fabric of our society. This is not hyperbole. It is not an overstatement. There is nothing more important than law and order."

The governor says killing police officers "doesn't accomplish anything, it's not constructive. It's just pure unadulterated evil."

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1:45 p.m.

All three of the slain Baton Rouge officers lived in Denham Springs, a racially mixed city with outside Louisiana's capital.

Antique store owner Marilyn Wallace says "everybody knows everybody" in the small city, so the killings have a huge impact."

Denham Springs is in Livingston Parish, which has a history of Ku Klux Klan activity and a sharp racial divide.

But that seems remote in Denham Springs, the Wallace's white son grew up with Montrell Jackson, a slain officer who was black.

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1:25 p.m.

One of the three officers wounded in the attack on police in Louisiana's capital has been released from a hospital.

A statement from Our Lady of the Lake hospital in Baton Rouge says the city police officer who was reported in fair condition has now been released.

That leaves two who are still being treated.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff's spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says sheriff's deputy Nicholas Tullier remained in critical condition, at the same hospital.

Deputy Bruce Simmons is being treated at Baton Rouge General Hospital for wounds to his arm and shoulder that are not expected to be life-threatening.

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1:15 p.m.

Louisiana authorities say surveillance video of the scene where three officers were killed makes clear that it was an ambush.

State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson is telling The Associated Press that video shows specific movements by the shooter that shows he was specifically seeking out law enforcement officers.

The shooter was killed and three other officers were wounded in the shootout.

Authorities plan to release more information during a news conference at 2 p.m. local time.

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1 p.m.

Authorities in Baton Rouge plan to release more information at a news conference at 2 p.m. local time about the shooting of police officers by a Kansas City man.

Kip Holden is the Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, and he visited today with officers at police their headquarters. He says all are grieving the loss of their co-workers, but they are well aware of the dangers in their jobs.

He says the city's mission now is to make sure the families of the officers who were shot and wounded are taken care of.

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12:45 p.m.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has ordered the U.S. and Louisiana flags to be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol and all public buildings in Louisiana until sunset on Monday to honor the lives of the six law enforcement officers who were shot in Baton Rouge this past Sunday.

Three of those officers were killed: Baton Rouge Police Officers Matthew Gerald and Montrell Jackson, and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola.

The governor calls them "heroes in the truest sense of the word."

"Rather than running from danger, they ran toward it and three of them paid the ultimate sacrifice," the governor says. "In honor of their lives, let us all remember that what unites us is far greater than what divides us."

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7:30 a.m. Monday

State police say the gunman ambushed officers and was 'certainly seeking out police.'

10 p.m.

Law enforcement in Baton Rouge will double patrols after Sunday’s shooting.

8:45 p.m.

(From left: Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald, Brad Garafola)

A spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office has identified the third officer killed during a shooting in Baton Rouge as sheriff's deputy Brad Garafola.

Casey Rayborn Hicks told The Associated Press Sunday that the slain deputy was 45-years-old and had been with the sheriff's office for 24 years.

Garafola was one of three law enforcement officers shot and killed Sunday. The other two were Baton Rouge police department officers Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald.

Another victim was Baton Rouge police Officer Montrell Jackson Jackson, 32, recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Baton Rouge police. He was a father to a four-month-old son Mason.

Matthew Gerald, 41, of Denham Springs was a former Marine and Black Hawk crew chief in the Army and graduated from the Baton Rouge police academy in March also died in the attack.

Hicks also identified the injured sheriff's deputies as 41-year-old Nicholas Tullier an 18-year veteran, and 51-year-old Bruce Simmons, a 23-year veteran.

Hicks says that Tullier is in critical condition while Simmons has non-life threatening injuries.

8:15 p.m.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Irwin Carmichael released a statement Sunday night.

"We are deeply saddened by these continued senseless acts of violence.

We will continue to pray for the victims and their families and our nation.

We urge everyone to remain calm and peaceful. Officer and public safety has and always will be of utmost importance to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office.

We always stress this message to our staff.  We will continue to monitor the situation out of Baton Rouge with safety and security at the forefront of everything we do."

5:30 p.m.

A Louisiana state representative has identified one of the three officers killed Sunday and said he had a 4-month-old child.

State Rep. Ted James Sunday gave the name of the dead officer as Montrell Jackson.

James said he knows Jackson and his family personally and spoke to the family earlier Sunday.

Jackson was one of three officers shot and killed in Baton Rouge Sunday morning. Three others were also wounded.

5:15 p.m.

Law enforcement officers have converged on a house in Kansas City, Missouri, that is listed for a man named Gavin Long. An Associated Press reporter said some officers had weapons drawn from behind trees and others were behind police cars and unmarked cars in the residential neighborhood.

An officer who did not identify himself and asked reporters to move away, saying that authorities were trying to ensure that there was no one in the house.

The small turquoise frame house with a front porch is in a lower income neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

5:10 p.m.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper released the following statement on the Baton Rouge shooting:

"Again today we mourn for lives lost too soon. The tragedy in Baton Rouge reminds us of the very real danger police officers face while trying to keep our communities safe. I offer my prayers for the families of those lost, as well as the men and women who continue to put their life on the line every day. We must all work together to end this cycle of violence."

5 p.m.

Charlotte’s mayor tweeted about the shooting.

“I'm horrified at violence plaguing our communities. My heart goes out two families in Baton Rouge, and all other cities, who have been affected,” Roberts said. “In Charlotte, we must continue to work together to end mistrust and inequalities that can lead to violence. Time for meaningful change”

4:15 p.m.

Louisiana state police say there is "no active shooter" in Baton Rouge. The person who shot and killed three officers in Baton Rouge was shot and killed at the scene.

"We are one family, all seeking justice for all of our people," Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden said.

The governor of Louisiana says the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge was unjustified.

Gov. John Bell Edwards told media Sunday afternoon that the gunman committed, "an absolutely unspeakable, heinous attack."

Edward says the hatred has got to stop.

Three officers are confirmed dead in the attack outside a store in Baton Rouge about a mile from police headquarters early Sunday morning. Three others are injured. The gunman was fatally shot.

3 p.m.

President Obama issues statement: These attacks "have to stop."

"I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge.  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.

I’ve offered my full support, and the full support of the federal government, to Governor Edwards, Mayor Holden, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department.  And make no mistake – justice will be done.

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.

Today, on the Lord’s day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge, with the police officers who’ve been wounded, and with the grieving families of the fallen.  May God bless them all."

2 p.m.

Gov. Pat McCrory issued a statement after the deadly shooting:

"This tragic incident involving the killing of police officers in Baton Rouge is another example of the danger our law enforcement officers face every day in communities across our nation. Ann and I are praying for the families of these fallen officers who were murdered while simply doing their job. Now more than ever it is time to show our support for those men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect us."

1:45 p.m.

Republican Donald Trump is blaming a "lack of leadership" for Sunday's shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Trump says in a statement posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages that "We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today."

Three officers are dead and three others wounded after the shooting less than one mile from local police headquarters.

Trump is placing the blame on a lack of leadership and is demanding "law and order."

He asks, "How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order."

The violence comes less than a month after a pair of police shootings prompted the assassination of five police officers in Dallas.

1:30 p.m.

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was already in Baton Rouge to offer “emotional and spiritual care in a time of civil unrest,” the organization said.

“In response to the officers shot in Baton Rouge, we have chaplains at the hospital supporting the police department,” Jack Munday, international director of the Rapid Response Team, said.

1:20 p.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has asked to be updated throughout the day as more details become available.

The White House has been in contact with local officials in Baton Rouge and offered any assistance necessary.

Obama spent most of last week focused on trying to reduce tensions and helping build trust between police and the communities they serve.

Obama attended a memorial service for five Dallas police officers last week and also led a nearly four-hour meeting featuring dozens of leaders from police organizations, community activists and elected officials.

He also spoke by telephone to the families of two black men shot in separate incidents in Baton Rouge and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

12:45 p.m.

A spokesman for the Louisiana governor says that the governor is at the hospital where police officers were taken following a shooting in Baton Rouge.

Richard Carbo told The Associated Press that Gov. John Bel Edwards was meeting Sunday with officers and their families.

The city is on high alert after three officers were shot and killed Sunday morning. Three others have been wounded in the Louisiana shooting.

A sheriff's spokesman in Baton Rouge said earlier that one suspect is dead and two others are believed to be at large.

12:45 p.m.

Police in Louisiana say they are using a specialized robot to check for explosives near the body of a suspect who was shot and killed in Baton Rouge early Sunday.

The suspect is believed to have been involved in the shooting of law enforcement officers in the Louisiana city early Sunday. Three officers are dead and three are hospitalized with injuries. The shooting occurred less than 1 mile from police headquarters.

Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L'Jean Mckneely Jr. says authorities do not have an immediate indication that explosives are present.

12:25 p.m.

Authorities say three law enforcement officers have been killed and three have been injured in a shooting in Louisiana.

A sheriff's spokesman in Baton Rouge also said that one suspect is dead and two others are believed to be at large.

Spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks issued a statement asking the public to report anything suspicious in the area to 911. Officers and deputies from the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office were involved in the Sunday morning shooting that took place less than 1 miles from police headquarters.

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Police-community relations in Baton Rouge have been especially tense since the killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man killed by white officers earlier this month after a scuffle at a convenience store. The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet.

It was followed a day later by the shooting death of another black man in Minnesota, whose girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath of his death on Facebook. Then on Thursday, a black gunman in Dallas opened fire on police at a protest about the police shootings, killing five officers and heightening tensions even further.

Over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets in Baton Rouge to condemn Sterling's death, including hundreds of demonstrators who congregated outside the police station. Authorities arrested about 200 people over the three-day weekend.

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