Baton Rouge police officers dead after shooting incident, others injured

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Update 10:28 p.m. ET

Brad Garafola, a 45-year-old East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputy was also killed. Garafola had been with the sheriff's office more than 24 years.

Two of the injured deputies were also identified as Nicholas Tullier, 41; Bruce Simmons, 51.

Update 8:07 p.m. ET

The two city police officers killed were identified Sunday evening: Officer Montrell Jackson and Officer Matthew Gerald. A 45-year-old East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputy, whose name has not been released, was also killed.

Jackson, 32, recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Baton Rouge police. He was a father to a four-month-old son Mason, according to The Advocate.

Gerald, 41, of Denham Springs, according to CBS News. Gerald, a former Marine and Black Hawk crew chief in the Army graduated from the Baton Rouge police academy in March.

Update 6:07 p.m. ET

The shooter who gunned down and killed at least three Baton Rouge police officers is identified as Gavin Long, according to The Associated Press.

The unnamed official familiar with the investigation who identified Long did not have any other details on him.

A spokesman for the Louisiana state police says they believe Long was the only shooter. However, officials are unsure whether he had accomplices.

"We are not ready to say he acted alone," Major Doug Cain said.

Cain said two other "persons of interest" were being detained in Addis, a town near Baton Rouge.

Update 2:55 p.m. ET

Kip Holden, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge, said a shooting situation between law enforcement officers and an unconfirmed number of suspects began when officers were "ambushed" while responding to reports of a shooting at a convenience store.

Three officers were killed.

Two officers remain at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center; one officer is in critical condition, and the other is in fair condition, the Associated Press reported. A third officer was sent to Baton Rouge General Medical Center and was being treated for "non-life-threatening injuries," said Meghan Parrish, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

Update 12:55 p.m. ET

A situation involving the death of at least three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers and one suspect is still active.

L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge police spokesman, said police sent a robot inside a B-Quick Convenience Store on Airline Highway near the suspect's body to determine if there are any explosives in the store, The Advocate reported.
It's unclear how the shootout began Sunday morning.

Details about the suspects are limited, but Baton Rouge police have asked people in the area to call law enforcement if they see anyone wearing all black or all camouflage, The Advocate reported.

“We’re not sure of anything right now,” McKneely said.

Update: 12:25 p.m. ET

Three law enforcement officers were confirmed dead Sunday morning, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said.

Two of the dead are Baton Rouge police officers, and one is an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy, Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel confirmed.

Three injured law enforcement officers remain at are being treated at local medical centers.

One suspect is dead and law enforcement believes two others may be at large, The Advocate reported.

UPDATE:Three law enforcement are confirmed dead, three others injured. One suspect is dead, law enforcement believes...

Posted by East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office on Sunday, July 17, 2016

Original story

Police officers have been shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during an incident that took place Sunday around 9 a.m.

"There is still an active scene. They are investigating," Holden said Sunday morning. "Right now we are trying to get our arms around everything."

It's unclear how many other officers were injured, but Holden said, "The count is three officers dead possibly."

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Officers and deputies from the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office were involved, according to Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.

"Officers from both agencies sustained injuries," Hicks said.

Injured personnel were rushed to a local hospital.

William Daniel, the city-parish's chief administrative officer, later confirmed that at least two officers died.

Baton Rouge Police spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola confirmed that several officers were shot, and Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L. J. McKneely said that "multiple" officers were down.

The situation occurred less than one mile from police headquarters at a location on Airline Highway near Old Hammond Highway, WAFB reported. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development reported the highway is closed.

Around 10 a.m., Coppola said the situation was "contained."

Details surrounding the shooting suspects are unclear. 
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.

"It's like a nightmare all over again," Holden said.

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