Baton Rouge Shooting: Three Police Dead, Others Wounded After Gunman Opens Fire

Multiple Baton Rouge police officers have been killed in what the Advocate reports local law enforcement is calling "an active shooting scene near the B-Quick Convenience Store on Airline Highway."

According to the Advocate, at least three officers have been confirmed dead and at least three others have been wounded. The victims include two Baton Rouge officers and an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy, Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel told the paper.

Police killed one gunman, and have detained two persons of interest in the shooting, according to the Advocate's Maya Lau.

The shooting occurred at around 9:00 a.m. after police were tipped off to the presence of a man carrying an assault rifle, according to the Advocate. Officers reported being shot at from an unknown location and later identified the suspect as a man dressed in black wearing a mask.

Baton Rouge police were in the news in prior weeks for the highly controversial police killing of Alton Sterling, a local man who was shot to death while pinned by police officers on the ground outside a convenience store. The death triggered waves of protests, and was one of several such killings reportedly cited by the perpetrator of a subsequent mass shooting of police in Dallas which killed five officers and wounded nine others.

Coverage of the protests showed Baton Rouge officers in heavy riot gear sent out to meet non-violent, unarmed demonstrators.

President Obama issued a statement on Sunday calling the perpetrators of the violence in Baton Rouge and Dallas as "cowards who speak for no one," adding "I want to be clear: There is no justification for violence towards law enforcement."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Sunday, July 17 at 4:59 p.m.: This story has been updated.

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