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At least three police officers were killed and three others wounded today in a shootout in the US city of Baton Rouge with one gunman dead and two suspects believed to be at large, the latest gun violence incident to rock the country.
The motive of the shooting was not known but comes amid spiralling tensions across the city and the country between the black community and police amid the ambush on Dallas police officers where a sniper killed five officers. The races of the suspects and the officers involved in today's shooting were not immediately known.
Officials confirmed that three law enforcement officers died while three others were wounded during an early morning shooting on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over a kilometre away from police headquarters.
The city was on high alert, officials said.
One shooter is dead, said Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.
She said law enforcement officials believe there are at least two other shooters who may be at large. However, investigators were working to determine the exact number of shooters involved.
"It's my understanding that they (the officers) had responded to an initial shooting incident," Hicks said.
Police were looking for anyone wearing army fatigues, all black or possibly a mask.
A witness told WBRZ-TV that a man, dressed in black with his face covered, was shooting indiscriminately when he walked out between a convenience store and car wash.
"We do know, and do believe there are more than one suspect. That's why we're alerting the community," said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely. "We sending in the robot to see if there are any explosives in the area or any explosives on him."
Police received a call of "suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle," a source said, adding that when police arrived, the man opened fire.
According to a senior White House Official, US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the Baton Rouge shooting.
White House has been in contact with local officials in Baton Rouge and has offered necessary assistance, the official said.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards called Baton Rouge shooting an "unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us".
"Rest assured, every resource available to the State of Louisiana will be used to ensure the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice," Edwards said in a statement.
The victims were from Baton Rouge Police Department as well as East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.
A witness described hearing at least 25 to 30 gunshots in the area. The shooting started shortly before 9 AM (local time) this morning.
"I walked out into the street to see what was going on, there was a man lying in the street. I assume he was dead because he wasn't moving," a witness told WAFB-TV.
