By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Sunday, July 17, 2016: Three police officers are dead in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after another attack by militants. Four other officers were hit in the gun battle, that someone later posted a video of on the internet. One militant was also killed, and as of press time, authorities were searching for two additional suspects dressed in fatigues or all in black. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) and other Alabama leaders expressed their sadness at the tragic loss of life.
Gov. Bentley said, “Once again we are troubled and heartbroken to hear of yet another act of senseless violence in our nation. Alabama joins with the entire nation to pray for the men and women of law enforcement who willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect us all. Our Nation must find our way to unity once again, even in the midst of so much division, violence and anger. We can not rely on any one person to fix what is broken. We, the people, are all part of one nation under God where there is liberty and justice for all.”
State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R), “We are now seeing copycat killings. These must stop. Officers going on calls can be sitting ducks.”
US Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) said, “Very troubling reports out of Baton Rouge. Tough couple of weeks for our friends in Louisiana. Prayers for all those involved.”
State Representative Tim Wadsworth (R-Arley) said on social media, “I condemn the shooting of officers in Baton Rouge today. We, as a nation, must demand law and order. I pray for the families of the law enforcement officers killed and injured today. Without law and order, we have chaos. Respect for the law and respect for order is a must.”
State Representative Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City) said on Twitter, “Multiple officers down in Louisiana. Please stop and pray. This madness has to stop. ?#?livinglifeupsidedown.”
Alabama Constitutional Conservatives organizer and Republican National Convention delegate Cindy Monaghan-Holcomb said, “Please pray for all law enforcement including the ones in Cleveland who will be responsible for protecting the convention and its participants. God protect them all.”
The dead suspect in the Baton Rouge shooting was wearing all black and was wearing a mask.
According to Baton Rouge Police Department Sgt. Don Coppola, the slayings were the work of multiple gunmen.
The Alabama Media group is reporting that the dead shooter attended the University of Alabama in 2012. Gavin Eugene Long, 29, was a native of Kansas City, Missouri reportedly made the Dean’s List in his time at the University of Alabama.
The police were responding to a call of a “suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle,” a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN. When the police arrived, the shooting began.
Baton Rouge was already divided due to a fatal shooting of an armed suspect, with a long criminal record, by police there on Thursday, July 7. That shooting and one in Minnesota sparked a wave of protests across the country, including one in Dallas where five officers were killed and another seven shot in an ambush while providing security to the protestors. The shooter at the Dallas event was former Afghanistan War veteran, Michael Xavier Johnson, who was a member of the New Black Panther Party.
That tragic loss of life did nothing to prevent more protests in the days that followed.
There are reports that protestors at a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge last week held signs that said, “Oink, oink, Bang. Bang.”
(Original reporting by CNN and Fox News contributed to this report.)
