FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

Everything we know so far about the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge

Authorities are still trying to determine what led to the shooting that left three police officers dead and three injured in Louisiana's capital.
Photo by Max Becherer/AP

Three police officers are dead and three others are injured after a shooting that occurred Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One suspect is dead and two "persons of interest" have been detained.

Many details about the incident remain unclear, but here's everything we know so far.

-The shooting began shortly before 9am local time, about one mile from police headquarters in Louisiana's capital.

Advertisement

-At least six law enforcement officers were shot. Two Baton Rouge police officers and one sheriff's deputy are dead. One deputy is hospitalized in critical condition and another is in fair condition. The third officer sustained minor injuries.

-Authorities say there may have been multiple shooters. One is dead, and two others are possibly still at large. Police have detained two "persons of interest" who were apprehended in Addis, Louisiana, a city across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge. Authorities assured the public that there is no "active shooter" in the area.

-Multiple US news agencies have identified the gunman as Gavin Eugene Long, a black male from Kansas City, Missouri. Sunday was reportedly Long's 29th birthday. He was a former Marine who served five years in Iraq. He apparently used the alias "Cosmo Setepenra," a purported life coach and online radio host.

-Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden told NBC News that the officers were responding to a call of shots fired when they were ambushed by at least one gunman. A witness described hearing at least 25-30 gunshots. Rapid gunfire could be heard in video footage from the scene.

NEW: Video of alleged shots fired at officers in Baton Rouge https://t.co/gwv4VmRqse https://t.co/7HGD5AuECW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 17, 2016

-One witness said police were not targeted, and that the officers may have arrived on the scene of a shootout that was already in progress. "This was not a come at police shooting," the witness told local TV news broadcaster WAFB. "There were men out here shooting at each other before police ever got here."

-The shooting comes just one week after East Baton Rouge Police claimed they thwarted a credible threat against law enforcement. Three young men and one juvenile were caught stealing guns from a pawn shop. One said they intended to use the weapons against cops. Earlier in the month, footage of the fatal shooting of black man Alton Sterling by white police officers provoked large protests in the city and nationwide.

Follow VICE News on Twitter: @vicenews