*Updated 22.50*
Three police officers have been killed in a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The perpetrator has been named as Gavin Long from Kansas City, Missouri. CBS report that Sunday was Long's 29th birthday.
Six police officers in total were injured in the shooting. Two were taken to Our Lady of the Lake hospital, where one is described as being in a critical condition, one is in a fair condition, and a third was being treated for non life-threatening injuries.
The local mayor's office confirmed that the two of the dead are Baton Rouge police officers, while the third is an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy.
According to AP, Major Doug Cain stated that "We are not ready to say he acted alone," and that two other "persons of interest" had been detained in the nearby town of Addis.
Scene at Hammond Aire Shopping Center. Cops galore, helicopter buzzing above. pic.twitter.com/6eqJTrBRa7
— Charles Lussier (@Charles_Lussier) 17 July 2016
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is advising the public to stay clear of the area and that the local Airline Highway has been closed in both directions as a result of the incident. They expect to be working through the night as they investigate the scene.
The trauma unit at Our Lady of the Lake hospital, where the injured officers are being treated, was on lock down throughout the day, with a number of heavily armed officers standing guard outside the facility.
At a guarded #OLOL where the EBR Coroners Office has arrived @theadvocatebr pic.twitter.com/77sjArrtKM
— Hilary Scheinuk (@hscheinukphoto) 17 July 2016
Mayor Kip Holden told MSNBC that "basically, it was like an ambush style deal. They responded to a call, and lo and behold there's this jerk out there firing on our police officers."
The mayor of Baton Rouge tells MSNBC three officers were killed in an ambush Sunday morning https://t.co/MOw9VZ6cXT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) 17 July 2016
Ms. C. Denise Marcelle, the Democrat member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 61 in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, has been speaking on local TV and said: “This is the worst case scenario. That is why many of us have been on the front line trying to prevent this from happening.
"We need a time of healing," she added, "we need a time of prayer. And it’s tearing me apart that it’s happening."
In a statement on Sunday, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said "The violence, the hatred just has to stop. At times like this I wish the command of the English language that I have were more adequate to the task to convey the full range of emotions that I am feeling, and to express them on behalf of the state of Louisiana.
"We have to do better," he added. "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. The people who carried out this act, the individuals, they do not represent the people of Baton Rouge, or the state of Louisiana or what's best about our country. They don't represent the values that we stand for."
President Obama issued a press briefing at the White House, saying: “Our hearts go out to the families who are grieving. Our thoughts go out to the officer who is fighting for his life.
"Attacks on police are an attack on all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible." —@POTUS https://t.co/5I4OiS3kSi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) 17 July 2016
"It is up to all of us to make sure we are part of the solution and not part of the problem."
