Multiple officers shot in Baton Rouge

Local law enforcement said it was a sole gunman who opened fire on officers Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, killing three and wounding several more, but they also said they could not say whether the gunman acted alone.

The governor of Louisiana says the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge was unjustified.

Speaking from the White House, Obama called on Americans to tamp down on divisive rhetoric, particularly given the Republican and Democratic conventions occurring in the next two weeks, “where our political rhetoric tends to be more overheated than usual”, he said. And that is why it is so important that everyone regardless of race, or political party, or profession, regardless of what organizations you are a part of, everyone right now focus on words and actions that unite this country rather than divide it further.

Michelle Rogers, 56, said the pastor at her church had led prayers Sunday for Sterling’s family and police officers, asking members of the congregation to stand up if they knew an officer. Multiple police units were stationed at Baton Rouge’s Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, where the stricken officers were believed to be undergoing treatment at a trauma center.

Three officers were shot, according to WBRZ-TV, and police closed the streets between the police department’s headquarters and Interstate 12.

Obama pledged the federal government’s full support in the investigation of the incident.

WAFB-TV reported officers were shot along Airline Highway near Old Hammond Highway, but didn’t specify the number of police.

Authorities have not yet linked last week’s threat to Sunday’s shooting. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has already tried to blame the Baton Rouge shootings on President Obama.

The officers in Baton Rouge were responding to a call of shots fired when they were ambushed by at least one gunman, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden said. “We just said a prayer in the vehicle for the families”.

The tensions between police departments and the communities they serve have consumed much of the president’s time over the past week. The 37-year-old African-American father of five was shot and killed at close quarters by law enforcement officers on July 5.

In the wake of Sterling’s death, there have been calls to “rage” or “purge” police in Baton Rouge.