Three officers were killed and three others wounded after a gunman opened fire less than a mile from Baton Rouge police headquarters Sunday.
Here's what we know so far:
1. The gunman, identified by police as 29-year-old Gavin Long of Kansas City, Missouri, was shot and killed by officers at the scene. Long, a former Marine who served in Iraq, was known online as Cosmo Setepenra, a "spiritual advisor," life coach and author, according to The Advocate. Sunday was his birthday.
Long posted a series of YouTube videos called Convos with Cosmos. In a recent video titled "Protesting oppression and how to deal with bullies," he spoke about recent protests in the wake of the police shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
“If y’all wanna keep protesting, do that, but for the serious ones, the real ones, the alpha ones, we know what it’s going to take. It’s only fighting back of money, that’s all they care about,” Long said. “Revenue and blood. Revenue and blood. Revenue and blood. Revenue and blood. Nothing else.”
State police said Monday that Long ambushed officers and was "certainly seeking out police," according to The Associated Press.
>> What we know about Gavin Long, suspect in Baton Rouge police shooting
2. The slain officers were identified as Montrell Jackson, 32; Matthew Gerald, 41; and Brad Garafola, 45. Jackson, who recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Baton Rouge police, was married and the father of a 4-month-old son, Mason, according to The Advocate.
On July 8, Jackson wrote a heartfelt post on Facebook following violence in Baton Rouge and other parts of the country.
“I swear to God I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me,” Jackson wrote. “In uniform, I get nasty, hateful looks, and out of uniform, some consider me a threat.”
Gerald, of Denham Springs, was a former Marine and Black Hawk crew chief in the Army, according to CBS News. He graduated from the Baton Rouge police academy in March.
Garafola had been with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office more than 24 years. He was finishing his last shift and had plans to go on vacation Monday, according to The Advocate. He was married with four children.
>> What we know about the slain Baton Rouge police officers
3. Two of the injured deputies have been identified as Nicholas Tullier, 41, and Bruce Simmons, 51. According to The Associated Press, Tullier, an 18-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, was in critical condition, while Simmons, a 23-year veteran, had non-life-threatening injuries.
4. President Barack Obama condemned the shooting in a statement from the White House. "We as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement," he said. "Attacks on police are an attack against all of us ... the rule of law that makes society possible."
He added, "Regardless of race or political party or profession, regardless of what organizations you're a part of, everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further."
>> Here's President Obama's statement on the shootings of police in Baton Rouge
5. Police audio from the scene offers a chilling account of the tragedy. The gunman opened fire after police arrived at an Airline Highway gas station in response to a call about a suspicious man carrying an assault rifle. The AP reports that it took several minutes for officers to determine where the shots were coming from.
“Unknown where the subject’s shooting from!” one officer yells on the recording.
“We do not have a 40 on the shooter, he is not in sight, possibly sniper,” an officer says.
>> Listen to Part 1 of the audio here (WARNING: GRAPHIC)
>> Listen to Part 2 of the audio here (WARNING: GRAPHIC)
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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