Baton Rouge police shooting update: Gunman identified, described as 'black separatist

Baton Rouge police shooting updates: Gunman identified, described as 'black separatist'

JULY 17, 2016, 6:06 P.M.

At least three police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge on Sunday morning, in what the town's mayor calls an ambush attack. Three other officers were wounded, one of whom is in critical condition.

The attack took place less than two weeks after the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, at the hands of police sparked protests and triggered a Justice Department civil rights investigation. It also comes a little over a week after five police officers were shot dead during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas.

What we know so far:

• Baton Rouge police responded to a call around 8:30 a.m. A gunman shot at the officers when they arrived at a location less than a mile from police headquarters.
• A suspect is dead. Police initially believed there were multiple suspects, but later said the dead shooter is the only gunman.
• The gunman was named Gavin E. Long, a U.S. law enforcement official said. He was a 29-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri.
• Another law enforcement official described Long as a "black separatist."

6:24 P.M.Jaweed Kaleem


Suspect used online alias for rage-filled social media posts

http://www.trbimg.com/img-578c2f07/t...2-20160717/600(Gerald Herbert / AP)
Gunman Gavin Long appeared to leave a vast, anger-laden online trail documenting his interest in black separatism, fury at police shootings of black men, experience in the Marines and advocacy for vegetarianism.

Online, Long went by the nickname “Cosmo.” A domain name, ConvosWithCosmo.club, was registered in April to his name and Kansas City address, as well as an email address he used. The website is unbuilt and shows a generic page with ads but a similar website, ConvosWithCosmo.com, includes links to podcasts, YouTube videos, various social media accounts and sites selling books written by Long. On another website, a user named “Cosmo Setepenra” who uses an email address associated with Long complains about government surveillance.

Throughout his postings, Long described violence as the solution to what he saw as oppression of black Americans.

“One hundred percent of revolutions, of victims fighting their oppressors, from victims fighting their bullies, 100% have been successful through fighting back through bloodshed,” he says in one video.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...htmlstory.html

More info @

Baton Rouge police respond to report of officers down

After looking at his site, it seems to me that he really just wanted to be famous. For 24 hours, he may be the biggest search on Google. JMO

Baton Rouge Shooter Gavin Eugene Long Was Nation Of Islam Member, Railed Against ‘Crackers’ On YouTube Channel [video]
CHUCK ROSS
Reporter
6:38 PM 07/17/2016


http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-cont...8794125262.pngBaton Rouge shooter Gavin Eugene Long. (Youtube screen grab)

A Youtube account operated by Gavin Eugene Long and discovered by The Daily Caller reveals key insight into what might have motivated the 29-year-old black man who killed three Baton Rouge police officers Sunday morning.

Videos on Long’s account show that he was a former Nation of Islam member. He also ranted against “crackers” and made references to Alton Sterling, the black man killed by police in Baton Rouge on July 5.

Other information about Long shows that the Kansas City native, who CBS reported was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2010, went by the name Cosmo Ausar Setepenra.

In one video filmed from Houston and posted to Long’s Youtube account on July 12, the suspected guman discusses being in the Marines and reaching the rank of E-5.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/17/ba...channel-video/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Zkloxa1Vw

Published on Jul 17, 2016
Subscribe now for more! http://bit.ly/1QHJwaK Gavin Long, the Baton Rouge shooter was a Nation of Islam member, a Black Lives Matter supporter which is why the media didn't release his race or any other information about him for hours after his shooting rampage against police. Many on social media even falsely claimed the shooter was a white supremacist and member of Sovereign Citizens. Media analyst Mark Dice has the story. © 2016 by Mark Dice


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Zkloxa1Vw

Baton Rouge killer shared photo on Twitter of cop being shot

JULY 17, 2016
BY KYLE OLSON

Suspected Baton Rouge cop killer Gavin Long — aka Cosmo Setepenra — seems to have established a motive for his rampage on social media.

The most graphic example is a photo posted June 7th of someone shooting into the driver’s seat of police car, which he retweeted using the name @ConvosWithCosmo:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cmvc6EgVUAESa58.jpg:small

Follow
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...28N_normal.jpgThe Hood Bible @HoodBibIe

They gone be mad when niggas start doing this.
1:17 AM - 7 Jul 2016

“They gone be mad when niggas start doing this,” the caption read.

He also posted statistics of the apparent number of officer-involved shooting deaths — and the supposed lack of charges:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...rk1_normal.jpgConvos With Cosmo @ConvosWithCosmo

Since 2000, 149 people have died at the hands of police. To date no officer charged in any of those deaths Read Thishttp://www.startribune.com/no-charges-for-minnesota-officers-in-police-involved-deaths-since-2000/373981961/ …
8:11 PM - 7 Jul 2016
https://o.twimg.com/2/proxy.jpg?t=HB...KwRTYKf6HHfNNg


No charges for Minnesota officers in police-involved deaths since 2000

Since 2000, .
startribune.com

He wished Muslims a “Happy Ramadan 2016”:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...rk1_normal.jpgConvos With Cosmo @ConvosWithCosmo

HAPPY RAMADAN 2016 to all my Muslim brothers and sisters (nearly 2 billion) around the world. Love your culture & principles!
9:55 AM - 7 Jun 2016

http://www.theamericanmirror.com/gav...hoto-cop-shot/

VIDEO: Gunman ‘was seeking out,’ ambushed 6 Baton Rouge officers

http://youtu.be/ZP2RynV7pdQ

By Mike Kunzelman and Melinda Deslatte, The Associated Press POSTED: 07/18/16, 7:52 AM EDT | UPDATED: 5 MINS AGO


BATON ROUGE, La. >> A former Marine dressed in black and carrying extra ammunition ambushed police in Baton Rouge, shooting and killing three law enforcement officers less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police there in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide.

Three other officers were wounded Sunday, one critically. Police said the gunman was killed at the scene.

“His movements, his direction, his attention was on police officers,” state police Col. Mike Edmonson said Monday morning. He would not elaborate but said the gunman “certainly was seeking out police officers,” and he used the word “ambush” to describe the attack.

Edmonson also confirmed that investigators have interviewed people with whom the shooter had contact with in Baton Rouge. But Edmonson wouldn’t say how many or give details. He stressed that the interviews don’t mean that those people were involved in the shooting and urged any others who might have had contact with or information about shooter Gavin Long to come forward.

The shooting less than a mile from police headquarters added to the tensions across the country between the black community and police. Just days earlier, one of the slain officers had posted an emotional Facebook message about the challenges of police work in the current environment.

President Barack Obama urged Americans to tamp down inflammatory words and actions.

“We don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda. We need to temper our words and open our hearts ... all of us,” Obama said.

The gunman was identified as Gavin Long of Kansas City, who turned 29 Sunday.

Long, who was black, served in the Marines from 2005 to 2010, reaching the rank of sergeant. He deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009, according to military records.

Although he was believed to be the only person who fired at officers, authorities were investigating whether he had some kind of help.

“We are not ready to say he acted alone,” state police spokesman Major Doug Cain said. Two “persons of interest” were detained for questioning in the nearby town of Addis. They were later released without any charges being filed.

While in the military, Long was awarded several medals, including one for good conduct, and received an honorable discharge. His occupational expertise was listed as “data network specialist.”

The University of Alabama issued a statement saying Long attended classes for one semester in the spring of 2012. A school spokesman said university police had no interactions with him.

In Kansas City, police officers, some with guns drawn, converged on a house listed as Long’s.

It was the fourth high-profile deadly encounter in the United States involving police over the past two weeks. In all, the violence has cost the lives of eight officers, including those in Baton Rouge, and two civilians and sparked a national debate over race and policing.

Authorities initially believed that additional assailants might be at large, but hours later said there were no other active shooters. They did not discuss the gunman’s motive or any relationship to the wider police conflicts.

The shooting began at a gas station on Airline Highway. According to radio traffic, Baton Rouge police answered a report of a man with an assault rifle and were met by gunfire. For several long minutes, they did not know where it was coming from.

The radio exchanges were made public Sunday by the website Broadcastify.

Nearly 2½ minutes after the first report of an officer getting shot, an officer on the scene is heard saying police do not know the shooter’s location.

Almost 6 minutes pass after the first shots are reported before police say they have determined the shooter’s location. About 30 seconds later, someone says shots are still being fired.

The recording lasts about 17 minutes and includes urgent calls for an armored personnel carrier called a BearCat.

“There simply is no place for more violence,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “It doesn’t further the conversation. It doesn’t address any injustice perceived or real. It is just an injustice in and of itself.”

From his window, Joshua Godwin said he saw the suspect, who was dressed in black with a ski mask, combat boots and extra bullets. He appeared to be running “from an altercation.”

Mike Spring awoke at a nearby house to a sound that he thought was from firecrackers. The noise went on for 5 to 10 minutes, getting louder.

Of the two officers who survived the shooting, one was hospitalized in critical condition, and the other was in fair condition. Another officer was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, hospital officials said.

Two of the slain officers were from the Baton Rouge Police Department: 32-year-old Montrell Jackson, who had been on the force for a decade, and 41-year-old Matthew Gerald, who had been there for less than a year.

The third fatality was Brad Garafola, 45 and a 24-year veteran of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.

Jackson, who was black, posted his message on Facebook on July 8, just three days after the death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man killed by white Baton Rouge officers after a scuffle at a convenience store.

In the message, Jackson said he was physically and emotionally tired and complained that while in uniform, he gets nasty looks. When he’s out of uniform, he said, some people consider him a threat.

A friend of Jackson’s family, Erika Green, confirmed the posting, which is no longer on Facebook. A screenshot of the image was circulating widely on the internet.

Police-community relations in Baton Rouge have been especially tense since Sterling’s death. The killing was captured on cellphone video.

It was followed a day later by the shooting death of another black man in Minnesota, whose girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath of his death on Facebook. The next day, a black gunman in Dallas opened fire on police at a protest about the police shootings, killing five officers and heightening tensions even further.

Thousands of people protested Sterling’s death, and Baton Rouge police arrested more than 200 demonstrators.

Sterling’s nephew condemned the killing of the three Baton Rouge officers. Terrance Carter spoke Sunday to The Associated Press by telephone, saying the family just wants peace.

“My uncle wouldn’t want this,” Carter said. “He wasn’t this type of man.”

A few yards from a police roadblock on Airline Highway, Keimani Gardner was in the parking lot of a warehouse store that would ordinarily be bustling on a Sunday afternoon. He and his girlfriend both work there.

But the store was closed because of the shooting.

“It’s crazy. ... I understand some people feel like enough is enough with, you know, the black community being shot,” said Gardner, an African-American. “But honestly, you can’t solve violence with violence.”

Michelle Rogers and her husband drove near the shooting scene, but were blocked at an intersection closed by police.

“I can’t explain what brought us here,” she said. “We just said a prayer in the car for the families.”

Also Sunday, a domestic violence suspect opened fire on a Milwaukee police officer who was sitting in his squad car. The officer was seriously wounded, and the suspect fled and apparently killed himself, authorities said.

VIDEO: Gunman ‘was seeking out,’ ambushed 6 Baton Rouge officers

Baton Rouge Gunman Had Ties to Sovereign-Citizen Group

Wall Street Journal

- ‎47 minutes ago‎

Gavin Eugene Long, the gunman who killed three Baton Rouge, La., police officers Sunday, had legally changed his name to Cosmo Setepenra after pledging allegiance to a group of black Americans who claim to be part of a sovereign nation.

New Black Panther Party to carry guns at the Republican convention in Cleveland

Cleveland Police Union: Suspend Open-Carry

BY MATT PEARCE AND JAMES QUEALLY ON JUL 18, 2016 SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES

http://r3.officer.com/files/base/OFC...cbb43a2a09.jpg
About 200 anti-Trump and Black Lives Matter protesters march through downtown Cleveland on July 17.
Photo credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

http://r2.officer.com/files/base/OFC...cbb0b2c4fd.jpg
Steve Thacker, 57, ex-Marine, is interviewed by numerous journalists in downtown Cleveland, where he brought his
weapon in defense of the Second Amendment on July 17.Photo credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

CLEVELAND — A top police union official asked Ohio's governor to temporarily ban guns outside the Republican National Convention in downtown Cleveland after the shooting of several police officers in Louisiana renewed fears about the safety of this week's political gathering.

But a spokeswoman for Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, said Sunday that he did not have the power to suspend the state’s open-carry laws.

The city has banned a wide variety of potential weapons from the protest zone near the convention — including tennis balls, water pistols and bicycle locks — but cannot limit firearms.

The dispute over the open-carry law, which is similar to statutes in most other states, came as protesters from a long list of organizations began to gather here for demonstrations that are expected to last at least until Donald Trump accepts the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday.

Sunday afternoon, a man with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, a handgun and ammunition stood in downtown’s Public Square saying he was there to exercise his rights and make a point.

“What are you going to do, ban everything that kills people?” Steve Thacker, a 57-year-old information technology engineer from Westlake, Ohio, asked when someone criticized his decision to walk through Cleveland with the rifle. “The point is to protect yourself. This world is not the world I grew up in.”

A local resident, Steve Roberts, 61, who was riding his bike through the square, stopped to acknowledge that Thacker was within his rights, but asked him to leave.

“You’ve shown it. Why don’t you take it back?” Roberts, who was wearing a “Stand for Love” T-shirt, told Thacker. “I find it offensive.”

The miniature drama between the men could be one of many that will play out as viewpoints collide in Cleveland this week — not just left versus right, but sometimes far left versus far right.

In preparation, metal security fencing stands around the convention site, which is protected by the U.S. Secret Service. The rest is the responsibility of a police force including thousands of officers from agencies from California to Florida who have been sworn in with arrest powers in the city. Police officers with dogs have begun patrolling the streets.

“It’s game time,” Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said Sunday morning, “and we’re ready for it.”

Black nationalists drew an escort of bicycle officers in helmets and shorts as they marched through the city Saturday. Planes towing banners opposing abortion and supporting the imprisonment of Hillary Clinton circled the city Sunday while hundreds of activists marched through the streets to protest Trump and killings by police.

The names of Tamir Rice and Eric Garner, who were killed by police, were invoked as a small but raucous crowd began to chant outside the Cleveland Masonic and Performance Arts Center.

Cleveland Police Union: Suspend Open-Carry

15 injured in knife/axe attack on train