BATON ROUGE, La. – Obvious bullet holes and shattered glass at a neighboring business are all proof of a tense shootout Sunday along a busy road in Baton Rouge.
When the smoke cleared, six police officers had been shot, including three who died.
The officers killed in the ambush were identified as Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Brad Garafola.
"They were ambushed, the way they were shot and killed," Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson said.
The Louisiana State Police is in charge of the deadly shooting investigation.
Edmonson told Local 10 News that the call came in as a man dressed in all black, wearing a mask and carrying a rifle while walking down the commercial district.
"(There are) a lot of businesses in the area. Was this incident caught on surveillance video?" Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney asked.
"We've got a lot of cameras. We spent the better part of the afternoon (watching the videos) -- I actually saw some of them -- so we'll try to put that based on what we find out with my investigators," Edmonson said.
Authorities later released video showing the gunman, who appeared to be wearing dark clothing and something over his face.
"In this ongoing investigation, the most compelling piece of evidence is the video," Edmonson said. "It is the chilling and the sheer brutality of the shooting. There is no doubt whatsoever that these officers were intentionally targeted and assassinated. It was a calculated act against those who work to protect this community every single day."
The gunman has been identified as Gavin Long, of Kansas City, who carried out the incident on his 29th birthday.
Detectives are retracing his footsteps, including his social media postings, where he admits to being in Dallas during the previous mass shooting that left five officers dead.
Like the Dallas shooter, Long was also a military service member. He served as a Marine in Iraq and was discharged as a sergeant in 2010.
Police said he used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the attack.
People from near and far paid their respects at a growing memorial Monday, including a police chaplain, who shed a tear at the crime scene.
"We're all brothers and sisters in the blue, and from Dallas, I had to come here immediately because this town is going to be crushed for a while," Bob Ossler said.
Crystal Smith brought balloons, flowers and her children to the memorial.
"I just felt it was important for us to come out here and show our support," Smith said. "It's just for the human race, and I want my daughters to not be scared of police officers. I want to teach her that at a young age."
Police officers who responded to Sunday's shootings killed Long in a gun battle.
"These acts of senseless violence targeting our police officers are vicious," Florida Police Chiefs Association president Brett Railey said in a statement. "So many of our police officers are peaceful -- they love their communities, they are brave, and they are our protectors. And now they're being gunned down because of hate and fear."
