Baton Rouge shootings: Gunman's videos show anger at police
Gavin Long was a frequent user of social media
The man identified as the killer of
three US police officers in Baton Rouge had posted videos complaining at
police treatment of African Americans and urging them to "fight back".
One of Gavin Long's videos stresses he is not linked to any group but is "affiliated with justice". The ex-Marine, 29, was killed by police during the attack on Sunday morning.
Police and members of the public attended a vigil on Sunday evening
Tension has been high since police shot dead a black man in Baton Rouge two weeks ago. That
death - and a second police shooting in Minnesota - sparked protests
across the US and triggered a revenge attack by a black army veteran who
shot dead five officers in the city of Dallas.
Police are investigating whether officers were lured by an emergency call
L-R Montrell Jackson, Brad Garafola, Matthew Gerald
Responding to the latest killings, President Barack Obama called upon all Americans to unite and refrain from divisive language.
Louisiana State Police said on Monday that they had now
positively identified Long as the gunman via fingerprints and said he
had been "certainly seeking out police". Col Mike Edmonson said: "His movements, his direction, his attention was on police officers."
More details have emerged about Long, who was from Kansas City, Missouri, including his service history.
A
Marine from August 2005 until August 2010, he rose to the rank of
sergeant and served in Iraq from June 2008 until January 2009, earning a
number of medals and commendations. He received an honourable
discharge.
His video and online postings used the pseudonym Cosmo
Setepenra. He railed against what he saw as injustices against black
people, at one point saying "you gotta fight back".
In one video, posted on YouTube, Long said that should "anything happen" to him, he was "not affiliated" with any group. One website called "convoswithcosmo" says he travelled to Dallas in the wake of the killing of the police officers there.
In
a 10 July video apparently posted from Dallas, he said only violence
and financial pressure would bring about change: "Revenue and blood,
revenue and blood, revenue and blood. Nothing else." One tweet last week said: 'Violence is not THE answer (its a answer),
but at what point do you stand up so that your people dont become the
Native Americans...EXTINCT?"
Sunday's attack reportedly took place on Long's birthday. Police
responded to reports of a man dressed in black holding a rifle behind a
store. They are investigating whether an emergency call lured the
officers there.
The exchange of fire lasted about eight minutes. Mayor Kip Holden said it was an "ambush-style" attack. Col Edmonson said the gunman was believed to have acted alone. The
dead officers were named as Montrell Jackson, 32, and Matthew Gerald,
41, of the Baton Rouge police department, and Sheriff's Deputy Brad
Garafola, 45. All three men had families.
Three other officers were wounded, one of whom was in a critical condition on Monday. It
has emerged that just days before the attack Montrell Jackson posted an
emotional message on Facebook about how hard it was to be a black
police officer in Baton Rouge.
"I swear to God I love this city
but I wonder if this city loves me," he wrote. "In uniform, I get nasty
hateful looks, and out of uniform some consider me a threat."
President Obama said that "nothing justifies violence against law enforcement". "Everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further," he added.
Mayor Holden told local media the "rhetoric from some people" after
the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge could be connected. "Everything's
been anti-police," he said, but added that the "overwhelming number of
people" were "not buying into their rhetoric".
US Attorney General
Loretta Lynch said federal law enforcement agencies were "determined to
do everything we can to bridge divides, to heal rifts, to restore
trust, and to ensure that every American feels respected, supported, and
safe"
