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3 police officers and 1 gunman dead in Louisiana shooting

Agencies
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Jul 17, 2016, 07:22 PM IST
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Police officers block a road after a shooting in?Baton?Rouge, Louisiana, on July 17, 2016. Photograph:(Reuters)
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Three police officers were shot to death and three others wounded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, in what authorities said was an ambush less than two weeks after an African-American was killed by police, sparking nationwide protests. The situation is still unfolding as the authorities look to secure the area and bring it under control.

One suspect is dead and police are checking for explosives, Baton Rouge Police spokesman L'Jean Mckneely said.

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.

A spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said police and sheriff's deputies were involved in the shooting incident. "Multiple officers from both agencies sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals," he said in an email. He said there were no firm numbers on the number hurt or the extent of injuries.

WAFB television aired video footage of police responding to the scene in Baton Rouge. Multiple shots could be heard as civilian cars quickly backed away. Citizens took to Twitter about the shooting, warning others to stay away from the troubled area.
The officers were taken to a local hospital, Police spokesman Sergeant Don Coppola told the local CBS affiliate, adding he did not know the extent of their injuries.

"The scene, we feel now, is contained," Coppola said, adding that he had no information on the extent of injuries or whether a suspect or suspects had been detained. The police have still not taken the shooter into custody and warned local residents to stay away from the scene, near Airline Highway.

The reports come a week after a wave of protests against police violence in Baton Rouge and other cities after a 37-year-old father of five was shot and killed at close quarters by law enforcement officers. At one of the demonstrations in Dallas, a gunman opened fire on white officers assigned to the protest, killing five of them.

(Agencies)