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2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers

Coordinates: 30°26′02″N 91°04′54″W / 30.4338°N 91.0817°W / 30.4338; -91.0817
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2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers
LocationBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Coordinates30°26′02″N 91°04′54″W / 30.4338°N 91.0817°W / 30.4338; -91.0817
DateJuly 17, 2016 (2016-07-17)
8:42 a.m. (CDT)
TargetResponding police officers
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths4 (including the perpetrator)[1]
Injured3
PerpetratorGavin Eugene Long[2]
MotiveRecent killings of blacks by police[3]

On July 17, 2016, 29-year-old Gavin Eugene Long, a black man from Kansas City, Missouri, shot six Baton Rouge-area police officers at approximately 8:40 a.m. CDT. Three of the officers died and three more were hospitalized, one critically. Of the officers that died, two were members of the Baton Rouge Police Department; the third worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Long died in a shootout with police at the scene. Police arrested and questioned two other suspects.

Background

The shooting occurred during a period of unrest in Baton Rouge, though it is unclear if the events are related.[4] Baton Rouge was experiencing ongoing protests following the officer-involved killing of Alton Sterling less than two weeks before on July 5.[5][6] Within the last week, four suspects were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Baton Rouge police officers, which was described as a credible threat by law enforcement officials.[5][7] On July 7, the FBI's New Orleans field office issued a warning about "threats to law enforcement and potential threats to the safety of the general public" stemming from the death of Sterling.[8]

Details

At 8:40 a.m. CT, police received a call about a suspicious person carrying a rifle on Airline Highway near Hammond Aire Plaza.[9] When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man clad in black and wearing a face mask behind the Hair Crown Beauty Supply store on the 9600 block of Airline Highway.[9][10] Shots were reportedly fired two minutes later. Another two minutes afterwards, there were reports that officers were down. At 8:46 CT, the gunman was reported to be near Benny's Car Wash. Officers fired on the gunman from behind the cover of patrol cars and killed him. Louisiana State Police said he was the only person involved in the shooting.[9] Three officers were killed in the shootout and three were injured, one critically.[10]

Officers used a robot to check the gunman's body for explosives.[11] Police recovered a rifle and a handgun from the crime scene.[12]

Perpetrator

Gavin Eugene Long
Born(1987-07-17)July 17, 1987
Kansas City, Missouri
DiedJuly 17, 2016(2016-07-17) (aged 29)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Cause of deathMultiple gunshots by police
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCosmo Ausar Setepenra
EducationCentral Texas College
Clark Atlanta University
University of Alabama

The shooter was identified as Gavin Eugene Long (July 17, 1987 – July 17, 2016), a black man from Kansas City, Missouri, who had changed his legal name to Cosmo Ausar Setepenra in May 2015.[13] He committed the shooting on his 29th birthday.[2] Although he was said to have acted alone in the shooting, police arrested and questioned two other people in Addis as part of the investigation.[10][14][15] Long is believed to have traveled from his hometown to Baton Rouge using a stolen rental car.[12]

Long served in the U.S. Marine Corps from August 2005 to August 2010 before being honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.[3][12][16] During his military service, he was deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009.[17] He was also assigned to units in San Diego, California, and Okinawa, Japan.[16] According to his LinkedIn profile, Long graduated from Central Texas College in Killeen in 2011 with an associate degree, and also studied at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black university, from 2012 to 2013. In addition, he spent a semester at the University of Alabama in the spring of 2012, with his name making it to the Dean's List.[17]

A law enforcement official described Long as "a black separatist".[18] Social media posts indicated that he was an active member of the anti-government New Freedom Group.[19] According to CNN, a card was found on Long's body, suggesting that he was a member of the Washitaw Nation, a group of African Americans associated with the sovereign citizen movement that originated in Richwood.[20] He was a member of a group dedicated to helping "Targeted Individuals" suffering from "remote brain experimentation, remote neural monitoring of an entire humans body."[21] He claimed to be a former Nation of Islam member and referenced Alton Sterling, a black man killed by Baton Rouge police officers on July 5, in online videos.[22][23]

Long operated a YouTube channel under the name Cosmo Setepenra, arguing about oppression against blacks and police protests. At one point, he called the shootings of five Dallas police officers less than two weeks prior an act of "justice".[3][12] In one video, he said, "One hundred percent of revolutions... have been successful through fighting back through bloodshed."[18] In another, he said peaceful protest was a futile method based on emotion and was easily forgettable.[20] Long also maintained a personal website in which he described himself as a "freedom strategist, mental game coach, nutritionist, author and spiritual advisor."[17]

Victims

Two Baton Rouge Police Department officers and one East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy were killed in the shooting. Three others, a police officer and two sheriff's deputies, were injured.[24]

Injured officers were transported to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, which said it received five patients from the shooting, three of whom later died. Of the surviving two, one was in critical and the other in fair condition.[8][11] The third injured officer was transported to Baton Rouge General Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.[25]

The officers killed were identified as:

  • Deputy Brad Garafola, 45, who had been with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office since 1992.[26]
  • Officer Matthew Gerald, 41, a former Marine who had been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for four months.[27]
  • Officer Montrell Jackson, 32, who had been with the department since 2006.[28]

Reactions

President Barack Obama condemned the shooting in a statement and added, "These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop."[29]

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released a statement after the shooting, saying, "This is an unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us at a time when we need unity and healing."[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Baton Rouge shooting: 3 police dead & 3 injured, shooter dead – LA superintendent". Russia Today. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Dead Baton Rouge shooter attacked police on his birthday". CBS News. Associated Press. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Swaine, Jon (July 17, 2016). "Gavin Long, named as Baton Rouge gunman, was marine with online alias". The Guardian. Retrieved July 17, 2016. His history of rambling postings indicated that the attack was motivated at least in part by killings by police of black Americans in recent years and the resulting unrest.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Merrit (July 17, 2016). "3 Law Enforcement Officers Killed In Attack In Baton Rouge". NPR. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Carrero, Jacquellena; Fieldstadt, Elisha; Gutierrez, Gabe (July 17, 2016). "Three Baton Rouge Officers Killed, Three Injured in 'Ambush'". NBC News. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  6. ^ Bullington, Jonathan (July 17, 2016). "Baton Rouge shooting leaves 3 police officers dead". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  7. ^ "3 police killed, 3 more wounded in Baton Rouge". CBS News. Associated Press. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Shapiro, Emily; Hayden, Michael Edison (July 17, 2016). "Gunman Identified in Shooting That Killed 3 Baton Rouge Officers". ABC News. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Buchannan, Karry (July 17, 2016). "How the Shooting of Police Officers in Baton Rouge Unfolded". New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Schmaltz, Trey (July 17, 2016). "Sources ID dead officers, dead shooter". WBRZ. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Baton Rouge shooting: 3 officers killed, suspect dead". Chicago Tribune. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d Stanglin, Doug; Johnson, Kevin (July 17, 2016). "Baton Rouge shooter identified as Gavin Long, 29". USA Today. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  13. ^ "Gavin Long: Who is Baton Rouge cop killer?". ABC 7. July 18, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  14. ^ McKay, Tom (July 17, 2016). "Gavin Eugene Long Named As Suspect in Killing of Three Police in Baton Rouge". Mic. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  15. ^ Hider, Alex (July 17, 2016). "Gavin Long: What we know about the suspected Baton Rouge shooter". News Channel 5. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Gavin Long: What we know about Baton Rouge police shooting suspect". The Times-Picayune. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Francescani, Chris; Dienst, Jonathan; Liriano, Karla; Dementri, Nikki (July 17, 2016). "Gavin or 'Cosmo'? Baton Rouge Shooter Left Long, Twisted Digital Footprint". NBC News. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Hennessy-Fiske, Molly; Jarvie, Jenny; Wilber, Del Quentin (July 17, 2016). "Marine Corps veteran identified as suspect in fatal shooting of three police officers in Baton Rouge". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  19. ^ Levitz, Jennifer; Lazo, Alejandro; Campo-Flores, Arian (July 17, 2016). "Three Police Officers Killed in Baton Rouge Shooting; One Suspect Is Dead". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 17, 2016. ...was from Missouri and was affiliated with an antigovernment group called the New Freedom Group, the person added.
  20. ^ a b Stickney, Ken (July 17, 2016). "Baton Rouge shooter may have embraced bizarre outlook". The Advertiser. Retrieved July 17, 2016. Shimon Prokupecz, a reporter for CNN, said a card was found on Gavin Long suggesting he was a member of the Washita[w] Nation, a peculiar sovereign citizen movement group...
  21. ^ Berlinger, Joshua (July 18, 2016). "Gavin Long: Who is Baton Rouge cop killer?". CNN. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  22. ^ Ross, Chuck (July 17, 2016). "Baton Rouge Shooter Gavin Eugene Long Was Nation Of Islam Member, Railed Against 'Crackers' On YouTube Channel [VIDEO]". Daily Caller. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  23. ^ "Baton Rouge shooter identified as Gavin Long by authorities". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  24. ^ "Latest: Suspect shot and killed at scene of Baton Rouge police shootings believed to be lone gunman". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  25. ^ "3 Baton Rouge officers killed in shooting; suspect dead". MSN. Associated Press. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  26. ^ "Third officer killed in Baton Rouge identified as Brad Garafola". WITN. Associated Press. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  27. ^ "Latest on the shooting of Baton Rouge police officers". CBS News. Associated Press. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  28. ^ Hardy, Steve; Mustian, Jim (July 17, 2016). "'Humble, kind, sweet,' new dad Montrell Jackson one of Baton Rouge officers killed in attack". The Advocate. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  29. ^ Ford, Matt; Calamur, Krishnadev; Appelbaum, Yoni (July 17, 2016). "The Baton Rouge Police Shooting: What We Know". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  30. ^ Visser, Steve (July 17, 2016). "Baton Rouge shooting: 3 officers dead; shooter was Missouri man, sources say". CNN. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
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