First images of 3 officers lured to their death in Baton Rouge ambush

Three police officers shot dead in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are believed to have been lured to their deaths. The three officers, two from the city’s police department and one from the sheriff’s office, were ambushed while responding to reports of gunfire on Sunday morning. Two of the officers have been named as Montrell Jackson, a 32-year-old who was married and had a four-month-old son, and Matthew Gerald, a 41-year-old father of two. Mr Jackson, a 10-year veteran of the force, described as a “gentle giant”, had written on his Facebook page a few days before he was shot that he was “physically and emotionally” tired and that it was difficult to be a police officer and a black man.

I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me.

Officer Montrell Jackson

The third victim was father-of-four Brad Garafola, 45, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office who had worked there for 24 years. Three other police officers were shot and injured - 41-year-old Nicholas Tullier, an 18-year veteran of the force, is in critical condition while Bruce Simmons, 51, has non-life-threatening injuries. The third officer, a 49-year-old also with non-life-threatening injuries, has not yet been named. The gunman has been named in US media reports as Gavin Eugene Long, a 29-year-old African-American from Kansas City. According to a source quoted by Reuters, there is “reason to believe” that a 911 call was used to lure police to the scene of the shooting.

Baton Rouge