NPR News, Classical and Music of the Delta
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Details About Baton Rouge Police Killer

A makeshift memorial at the commercial plaza where three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers were killed.
Ryan Kailath
/
WWNO
A makeshift memorial at the commercial plaza where three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers were killed.

Louisiana Governor John BelEdwards and state law enforcement officials revealed more details about the events that led to the shooting deaths of three local law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge.

 New details released about the man who killed three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers on Sunday, July 17, 2016.

 

The press conference was dominated by a chilling play-by-play of Sunday’s ambush on local law enforcement.Using eye witness accounts and surveillance video, Louisiana State Police Colonel Mike Edmonsontraced the killer’s movements on a blown up map of the area.

Edmonson says that of six officers shot during the eight minute battle three died, and one remains in critical condition at a local hospital. He was also clear about the killer's intent.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that these officers were intentionally targeted and assassinated," Edmonson said.

 

The attack was carried out by Gavin Long, a Missouri man, on his 29th birthday. He was armed with two assault rifles and a smaller handgun.A SWAT team member with the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) killed Long with a hundred-yard sniper shot.

BRPD Chief Carl Dabadie praised his men in an emotional turn at the podium. He also responded to critics who found his department’s treatment of protesters in the wake of Alton Sterling’s death aggressive.

 

"We've been questioned for the last three or four weeks about our militarized tactics...this is why," Dabadie said. "We have to have the ability to use it when we needed it and we needed it here."

Officials have been careful not to make an explicit link between Sunday’s events and the death of Alton Sterling at the hands of a local police officer. But Governor Edwards said what some are thinking along those lines.

 

"That is not what justice looks like," Edwards said. "It's not justice for Alton Sterling or anything else that's ever happened in this state...it's not justice for anybody."

Almost immediately, the commercial plaza where the shootings took place became a makeshift memorial with flowers, photos and hand-written notes. A prayer vigil was planned for Monday night, but turnout was small. It did, however, draw a few noteworthy residents: José Jackson, the father of slain officer Montrell Jackson, and Sandra Sterling, the aunt who raised Alton Sterling and considered him a son.

 

State Representative C. Denise Marcelle said it was a total coincidence. "We just all kinda came at the same time..." Marcelle said. "It was amazing that Alton Sterling's aunt was pulling up on the side of me."

Sterling expressed dismay at the death of Jackson’s son, Montrell, fellow Baton Rouge Police officer Matthew Gerald, and East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Garafalo.

 

"If you're gonna come to our city Baton Rouge, then you're gonna come in here peacefully," Sterling said. "I can't do another one of these."

Representative Marcelle helped organize protests over Alton Sterling’s death two weeks ago. Now she’s praying for the fallen officers, and hoping a divided Baton Rouge becomes united again.

 

"We are all hurting," Marcelle said. "We're all wanting justice now for the police. I've not spoken to one person that's happy that these officers are deceased. Not one."

 

After two weeks of unsettling and difficult days and nights in Baton Rouge, residents are hoping for some calm.

Copyright 2016 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Ryan Kailath
Ryan Kailath [KY-lawth] is a business reporter at NPR in the New York bureau.