Victims Matthew Gerald and Montrell Jackson with their children.
29-year old Gavin Eugene Long, an African American man from Kansas City, Missouri, shot six Baton Rouge-area police officers at approximately 8:40 a.m. CDT yesterday. Three of the officers died and three more were hospitalized at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. Of the officers that died, two were members of the Baton Rouge Police Department; the third worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. Long died in a shootout with police at the scene. Police arrested and questioned two other suspects.
The victims were Deputy Brad Garafola, 45, who had been with the sheriff’s office since 1992, Officer Matthew Gerald, 41, a former Marine who had been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for four months, and
Officer Montrell Jackson, 32, who had been with the department since 2006. Jackson, an African American, left behind a 5 month old son.
Videos on Gavin Long’s YouTube 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 5th. Long wrote on Twitter, “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?”
“Have u ever seen white people march for the things they needed?”
“Yes The Govt is a hate Group, They Hate Black People.”
Long also praised the Dallas police officers being killed, “The Shooter was NOT WHITE, He was one of us! # My religion is Justice.” He also shared a photo last month of a black man shooting a cop in a police car, with the caption: “They gone be mad when niggas start doing this.”
Alternative Nation sends its condolences to the friends and family of Matthew Gerald, Montrell Jackson, and Brad Garafola.
Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson responded to the tragedy on Twitter.
STOP KILLING cops. Stop killing blacks, stop killing women, men and children. STOP KILLING. ?
— Garbage (@garbage) July 17, 2016
