This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/18/us/baton-rouge-shooting.html
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Baton Rouge Shooting Leaves 3 Officers Dead and 3 Wounded | Baton Rouge Shooting Leaves 3 Officers Dead and 3 Wounded |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BATON ROUGE, La. — Three law enforcement officers were fatally shot and three others wounded on Sunday in Baton Rouge, La., the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office said, less than two weeks after a black man was killed by the police here, sparking nightly protests. | BATON ROUGE, La. — Three law enforcement officers were fatally shot and three others wounded on Sunday in Baton Rouge, La., the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office said, less than two weeks after a black man was killed by the police here, sparking nightly protests. |
| The gunman, who was identified as Gavin Long of Kansas City, Mo., was killed by the police. | |
| The police said initially that they were looking for other possible suspects, but the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, Col. Michael Edmonson, said at a news conference that the person who attacked the officers had been shot and killed at the scene. | |
| “There is not an active shooter scenario in Baton Rouge,” Colonel Edmonson said in a day punctuated by rumors and misinformation. | “There is not an active shooter scenario in Baton Rouge,” Colonel Edmonson said in a day punctuated by rumors and misinformation. |
| State and local officials speaking at a news conference on Sunday afternoon did not address whether the police were targeted specifically or whether they were shot trying to intervene during a crime. However, they acknowledged the tensions in the country this month surrounding the killings of black men by police officers, and the retaliatory violence directed at law enforcement. | |
| Sunday’s shooting is the latest episode in a month of violence and extraordinary racial tension in the country, and took place after Baton Rouge officers on July 5 fatally shot Alton B. Sterling, a black man who was selling CDs outside a convenience store here. The night after Mr. Sterling was killed, a black man was killed by the police during a traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb, and then the next night, five police officers were killed by a gunman in Dallas who said he wanted to kill police officers, particularly white officers. | Sunday’s shooting is the latest episode in a month of violence and extraordinary racial tension in the country, and took place after Baton Rouge officers on July 5 fatally shot Alton B. Sterling, a black man who was selling CDs outside a convenience store here. The night after Mr. Sterling was killed, a black man was killed by the police during a traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb, and then the next night, five police officers were killed by a gunman in Dallas who said he wanted to kill police officers, particularly white officers. |
| Colonel Edmonson said that a call came in to police dispatch early Sunday reporting “a guy carrying a weapon” near the Hammond Aire Plaza shopping center on Airline Highway. | Colonel Edmonson said that a call came in to police dispatch early Sunday reporting “a guy carrying a weapon” near the Hammond Aire Plaza shopping center on Airline Highway. |
| Around 8:40 a.m., law enforcement officers observed the man, wearing all black and holding a rifle, outside a beauty supply store, he said. Within the next four minutes, there were reports of shots fired and officers struck, said Colonel Edmonson, whose agency will take the lead on the investigation assisted by local and federal investigators. | |
| Mark Clements, who lives near the shopping center, said he was in his backyard when he heard shots ring out. “I heard probably 10 to 12 gunshots go off,” he said in a telephone interview. “We heard a bunch of sirens and choppers and everything since then.” | Mark Clements, who lives near the shopping center, said he was in his backyard when he heard shots ring out. “I heard probably 10 to 12 gunshots go off,” he said in a telephone interview. “We heard a bunch of sirens and choppers and everything since then.” |
| Avery Hall, 17, a worker at a nearby carwash, said he was on his way to work when the gunfire erupted. “I was about to pull in at about 8:45 and we got caught in the crossfire,” he said. “I heard a lot of gunshots — a lot. I saw police ducking and shooting. I stopped and pulled into the Dodge dealership. I got out and heard more gunshots. We ducked.” | |
| On the Police Department’s dispatch radio, a voice could be heard shouting: “Shots fired! Officer down! Shots fired. Officer down! Got a city officer down.” | On the Police Department’s dispatch radio, a voice could be heard shouting: “Shots fired! Officer down! Shots fired. Officer down! Got a city officer down.” |
| At 8:48 a.m., officers fired at the suspect, killing him, Colonel Edmonson said. | |
| All told, six law enforcement officers were shot, he said. Three of them died — two from the Police Department and one from the sheriff’s office — one sheriff’s deputy remained in critical condition, and the remaining two were in stable condition, he said. | All told, six law enforcement officers were shot, he said. Three of them died — two from the Police Department and one from the sheriff’s office — one sheriff’s deputy remained in critical condition, and the remaining two were in stable condition, he said. |
| Asked if investigators believed that the police had been targeted, Kip Holden, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, noted that the police were responding to a report of a man with a weapon. Louisiana is an open-carry state. | Asked if investigators believed that the police had been targeted, Kip Holden, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, noted that the police were responding to a report of a man with a weapon. Louisiana is an open-carry state. |
| “Based upon that, it would not seem that they were targeted,” Mr. Holden said. “They responded to a call that said there’s this guy walking along the street in these dark clothes, carrying a rifle.” | “Based upon that, it would not seem that they were targeted,” Mr. Holden said. “They responded to a call that said there’s this guy walking along the street in these dark clothes, carrying a rifle.” |
| Violence against law enforcement, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said, “doesn’t address any injustice, perceived or real. It is just an injustice in and of itself.” | Violence against law enforcement, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said, “doesn’t address any injustice, perceived or real. It is just an injustice in and of itself.” |
| Speaking at the news conference, the police chief here, Carl Dabadie Jr., called the shooting “senseless” and asked people to pray for the officers and their families. | Speaking at the news conference, the police chief here, Carl Dabadie Jr., called the shooting “senseless” and asked people to pray for the officers and their families. |
| He said the department would continue to work to protect the citizens of Baton Rouge. “We are going to get through this as a family,” he said, “and we’re going to get through this together.” | He said the department would continue to work to protect the citizens of Baton Rouge. “We are going to get through this as a family,” he said, “and we’re going to get through this together.” |
| The police in Baton Rouge had in recent days announced that they were investigating a plot by four people to shoot at police officers, and they cited the threat to explain the heavy police presence at protests. | The police in Baton Rouge had in recent days announced that they were investigating a plot by four people to shoot at police officers, and they cited the threat to explain the heavy police presence at protests. |
| The police said a 17-year-old was arrested after running from a burglary of the Cash American Pawn Shop in Baton Rouge. He and three others, including a 12-year-old arrested on Friday, were believed to have broken into the pawnshop through the roof. It was unclear whether the burglary was in any way connected to Sunday’s shooting. | The police said a 17-year-old was arrested after running from a burglary of the Cash American Pawn Shop in Baton Rouge. He and three others, including a 12-year-old arrested on Friday, were believed to have broken into the pawnshop through the roof. It was unclear whether the burglary was in any way connected to Sunday’s shooting. |
| Chief Dabadie told reporters at the time that the 17-year-old had told the police “that the reason the burglary was being done was to harm police officers.” | Chief Dabadie told reporters at the time that the 17-year-old had told the police “that the reason the burglary was being done was to harm police officers.” |
| The explanation, however, was met with skepticism on social media sites, where many people believed the report was concocted by the police to justify their militarized response to the protest. | The explanation, however, was met with skepticism on social media sites, where many people believed the report was concocted by the police to justify their militarized response to the protest. |
| “That was bull; it was a scare tactic to calm things down,” Arthur Reed, of Stop the Killing, the group that first released the video of Mr. Sterling’s shooting, said on Sunday. “And it worked. I ain’t going out there if people are going to be out there trying to kill police.” | |
| The intense protests after Mr. Sterling’s shooting were beginning to lose steam. Sima Atri, a social justice lawyer who represented some of the protesters who were arrested last weekend, said earlier in the week that many protesters were too afraid to hit the streets after the authorities’ heavy-handed approach last weekend, which included nearly 200 arrests. (Nearly 100 charges were dropped Friday.) | The intense protests after Mr. Sterling’s shooting were beginning to lose steam. Sima Atri, a social justice lawyer who represented some of the protesters who were arrested last weekend, said earlier in the week that many protesters were too afraid to hit the streets after the authorities’ heavy-handed approach last weekend, which included nearly 200 arrests. (Nearly 100 charges were dropped Friday.) |
| A protest on Saturday afternoon had less than a dozen people (all of them white), huddled on the side of the road under a tent to escape the blazing sun, flashing signs at passing cars. Once the sun went down, the crowd grew to about 125, most of them white, Mr. Reed said. Cpl. L’Jean McKneely of the Baton Rouge police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the protests. “We are not sure of anything right now,” he said. | A protest on Saturday afternoon had less than a dozen people (all of them white), huddled on the side of the road under a tent to escape the blazing sun, flashing signs at passing cars. Once the sun went down, the crowd grew to about 125, most of them white, Mr. Reed said. Cpl. L’Jean McKneely of the Baton Rouge police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the protests. “We are not sure of anything right now,” he said. |
| Just five days after traveling to a memorial service in Dallas for the five police officers killed there, President Obama addressed the killings of police officers on Sunday afternoon. In remarks from the White House, he said they were “an attack on all of us.” | |
| “We have our divisions and they are not new,” he said, noting that the country was probably in store for some heated language during the Republican National Convention this week in Cleveland. | |
| “Everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further,” he said. “We need to temper our words,” he added, “and open our hearts, all of us.” | “Everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further,” he said. “We need to temper our words,” he added, “and open our hearts, all of us.” |
| Louisiana has lately taken a harder line to defend its police officers, who this year will become a protected class under the state’s hate crimes law. | Louisiana has lately taken a harder line to defend its police officers, who this year will become a protected class under the state’s hate crimes law. |
| “I’ve read various accounts of people who I would say were employing a deliberate campaign to terrorize our officers,” State Representative Lance Harris, a Republican and the author of the proposal, said this year. “I just wanted to give an extra level of protection to the people who protect us.” | “I’ve read various accounts of people who I would say were employing a deliberate campaign to terrorize our officers,” State Representative Lance Harris, a Republican and the author of the proposal, said this year. “I just wanted to give an extra level of protection to the people who protect us.” |
| Mr. Harris’s proposal, which the Legislature overwhelmingly approved and Mr. Edwards signed in May, will make it a hate crime to select a victim “because of actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical services personnel.” | Mr. Harris’s proposal, which the Legislature overwhelmingly approved and Mr. Edwards signed in May, will make it a hate crime to select a victim “because of actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical services personnel.” |
| The killing of police officers in Baton Rouge placed another wrinkle in the work of activists who were already being criticized as the impetus for the attack in Dallas. Now, even as it remained unclear what caused the shooting in Baton Rouge, questions were already surfacing about whether a larger anti-police climate had anything to do with it. | |
| Cat Brooks, the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, cautioned against criticizing activists in the wake of Sunday’s killing of police officers in Baton Rouge. | Cat Brooks, the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, cautioned against criticizing activists in the wake of Sunday’s killing of police officers in Baton Rouge. |
| “I think anytime that there’s a loss of life — black, white, police officer, otherwise — it’s cause for us to take a moment and be sad about that life,” she said. “And I think we have to be really careful about where these shootings of police officers steer the conversation. I think it’s absurd to insinuate that a movement that is doing nothing more than demanding that the war on black life come to an end is in any way responsible for these police officers getting shot.” | “I think anytime that there’s a loss of life — black, white, police officer, otherwise — it’s cause for us to take a moment and be sad about that life,” she said. “And I think we have to be really careful about where these shootings of police officers steer the conversation. I think it’s absurd to insinuate that a movement that is doing nothing more than demanding that the war on black life come to an end is in any way responsible for these police officers getting shot.” |
| The shooting in Baton Rouge took place as protesters and Republicans were arriving in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention. Steve Thacker, 57, of Westlake, Ohio, stood in Cleveland’s Public Square on Sunday holding a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle as news broke that several officers had been killed in Baton Rouge. | The shooting in Baton Rouge took place as protesters and Republicans were arriving in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention. Steve Thacker, 57, of Westlake, Ohio, stood in Cleveland’s Public Square on Sunday holding a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle as news broke that several officers had been killed in Baton Rouge. |
| After the shooting in Dallas, Stephen Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, urged people not to take their guns anywhere near Cleveland’s downtown during the convention because officers were already in a “heightened state.” | After the shooting in Dallas, Stephen Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, urged people not to take their guns anywhere near Cleveland’s downtown during the convention because officers were already in a “heightened state.” |
| When asked about Mr. Loomis’s comments and the Baton Rouge shooting, Mr. Thacker said despite the shooting, he wanted to make a statement and show that people can continue to openly carry their weapons. | When asked about Mr. Loomis’s comments and the Baton Rouge shooting, Mr. Thacker said despite the shooting, he wanted to make a statement and show that people can continue to openly carry their weapons. |
| “I pose no threat to anyone. I’m an American citizen. I’ve never been in trouble for anything,” said Mr. Thacker, an information technology engineer. “This is my time to come out and put my two cents worth in, albeit that it is a very strong statement.” | “I pose no threat to anyone. I’m an American citizen. I’ve never been in trouble for anything,” said Mr. Thacker, an information technology engineer. “This is my time to come out and put my two cents worth in, albeit that it is a very strong statement.” |