Secure that area. Stale very active scene. We also have reporting into nbc that one suspect who died was fatally shot by police was wearing black fatigues and armed with a rifle that. New information coming in. This as the Police Department in baton rouge is having to deal with the loss of at least three of their own with the governor at this hour, at the hospital meeting with the families as they are coping with that reality that their loved ones have died from this shootout. In my conversation with the mayor earlier today he said that initially there are reports of shots fired and according to other Law Enforcement they said there were other calls to 911 about a person dressed in black armed with a long gun walking the streets and soon after those reports of gunfire came in this area. The mayor also saying when police did respond they were met with an ambush style attack, in his words. But again, very tense situation in baton rouge. Given the fact that he has already been tense in the past two recent weeks following the shooting death of alten sterling, his burial on friday can the protests, the peaceful protests that we have seen ever since. Also the tensions there from a plot that was stopped and with as many as four people arrested with their attempt to steal guns and ammunition to do harm to police. Also on the phone i have senator bill cassidy, louisiana senator on the phone with me here. As we are awaiting the News Conference from the governor. What can you tell us about the situation now. Ive only been following the Police Reports so i cannot say more than what you have said. What i can tell you though is that i was at church when this occurred and immediately there was just grief. There was grief for the families. There was grief for our community and for our nation. We dont need more of this. But first we begin by just reaching out to those families. And a time where we know this all too well this, kind of tragedy. Departments know this type of tragedy all too well after dallas and the attentions weve been seeing talk a little bit about your state, baton rouge and how they will begin even to cope with this now becoming what their city is known for as far as in light of this news today. It will be tragedy if this is what our city is known for. First let me complement the police. All last week. The tension they had was that they were on the one hand trying to protect the constitutional right of those who were peacefully protesting and on the other hand knowing that their own lives might be threatened. And im not sure that people fully recognize that last part. And now we rereecognize it with an incredible sense of tragedy. That is was a tension they live with every day. Our city, our state has made tremendous progress. And if is overshadowed by these events, that is a tragedy. Article, front page in our paper today how the diversity of our police force, which still has a ways to go, has increased dramatically over the last 20 or so years. That our mayor whos African American elected when the city was still predominantly white. Off Previous Police chief was an African American. Theres been incredible strides euros community has attempted to bridge that gap. If this is overshadowed by the actions of a few that will be a tragedy upon a tragedy. You are saying those strides have been made and some may see this as a step back given what weve been seeing as far as harm. The killing of three Police Officer, possibly even four. How will this community, your state even begin to start making those strides once again and reverse this . Well, first we presume it is related to the alton sterling affair but we do not know that. So we have to be careful about that. We dont know the race of the shooters or the race of the officers that were killed. So we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions. That said, right after the terrible event, i was on a walk just exercising. And an African American woman in front of me and on the phone and i wasnt eavesdropping but couldnt help to over hear. And i just countered she was speaking to a friend regarding the alton sterling protest and she said our goal, our responsibility is to bring peace. Similarly i was in my church. Our church went to an African American church for shared worship service. And as they were there, an African American woman passed a note to someone from my church thanking her mofor being there. Saying that her presence gave her hope that we really could speak to one another. So again there is an attempt among people of good will to bridge that gap. We cannot let tragedy build upon tragedy. All right. Senator, i know my colleague ari melber is in cleveland, where he is covering the Republican National convention, who also has a question for you. Senator cassidy, thanks for joining us and our thoughts and prayers with your community and constituents right now. With regard to the Alton Sperling matter. When you mention that you dont have any information from authority about whether there was any linkage at this juncture, is that correct. That is correct. It is easy to mablg but we do not know that. Right. We just dont know that at this point. When you look at what authorities have said publicly, what we seem to only know at this point is that there was this altercation in the morning that these officers were tragically killed in the line of fire and the rest are at the hospital. Were wondering whether your fellow official the governor will. Do you know anything about what hes going to brief on . Ari if im still on. You are. Because i was told by a producer that i was clear. I do not know. All i know is press reports. Ive been in contact with Law Enforcement at the scene. But do not know more than what the press is currently released. All right. Senator bill cassidy, thank you again for joining us on what is of course lay very difficult day. I obviously. Law enforcement vehicles returning to the scene. Is there anything newer hearing. Were hearing at this point there are two suspects at large. And that is what they are looking for right now. Weve got multiple choppers in the air. Police have built a very large perimeter trying to enclose thattthat area around the highway and the gas station supposedly near where this occurred. Thats what we know at this point. Three officers confirmed dead. Were also getting new information nbc news when it comes to the suspect who was fatally shot by police. That he was wearing black fatigues. Armed with a rifle. A official telling us they are still determining if the individual was wearing body armor. This is around the area of the Convenient Store where they brought in robots to see if there were any Explosives Left behind and to secure the area and to make sure its safe. But you can take from that reporting and see why the Public Information ever or the other officer lj mckneely was so the niz plea to the public. If anybody sees anybody wearing fatigues or camouflage or with a mask or noticing anything suspicious to call police. This as they are looking for two other suspect, correct . Yeah correct. Two suspects is what were hearing. And back to your point about. That includes everyone in the baton rouge area. Not just the city itself. The nearby parishes. They could be in surrounding areas as well. So everyone really should be on the lookout. And police are also advisining people to stay in your home. Dont go out anywhere near the scene at this point. Have you noticed any of the road closures or perimeters they are trying to build to block the public from entering given the fact that this man hunt is still ongoing. It is a wide perimeter. The two exits going to the airline are both closed down. And there is some roadways that go into airline lane and other spots that have been blocked off as well. Really if you are driving through baton rouge you have to it is like a maze. Much of the city has been barricaded off around that airline highway. And it is one of the biggest roads in baton rouge. A very large section of the city. This also as were waiting a couple of hours from now a News Conference from governor John Bel Edwards, where hes going to be addressing the public. And also were going to get a briefing from Louisiana State police. Anything more you know . I understand hes meeting with families right now at the hospital, families of some of these officers who died . Yeah i believe what were hearing of the officer whose died were at the hospital some point this afternoon all together. All right. Has to be such a difficult time for them for the entire department and the community there as they are dealing with this on the front of mourning the loss of the three lives lost from interest Police Department but also knowing it is very tense given this man hunt for one our or two suspects still out there. Nbcs jay gray just arrived on the seen. What can you tell us . Caller well francis, i think the description of this area being tense cant be over stated. Very concerned right now. Just for background, i grew up in baton rouge. Spent a lot of time here. Have talked with officers on the police force here who obviously are shocked and horrified at whats happened but also rush d ing to do what they can to find these other two suspects and anyone else who may be involved. Its been a tense weekend here with protests. Its been a tense month here as we all know. And these Police Officers are tired. But now on top of all thats happened, they have lost at least three of their brothers and then are very upset about that, as you would imagine. Also when you consider the fact that wasnt just an altercation, a confrontation thats collated and got out of control and resulted in the death of these three officers. From what were hearing the suspect was wearing black fatigues and armed with a rifle and there were calls to 911 describing a person wearing black feeks, armed as well. That there was planning in this. And planning according to the mayor who describes it as ambush style gunfire really sought out to do harm to Police Officers. I can tell you from those i talked to who are part of the force that is the initiative right now. That is the information they are going on. They believe that police were targeted here in baton rouge. Again that is not official and that is not from the chief of police here. But the officers that are on the ground and actively involved in the search believe they are searching for someone who was targeting blue here in baton rouge. And we know that was the case earlier with a plot that was stopped with the arrest of four people with. With stolen gun, ammunition from a pawnshop. Even one of those being i believe a 12 or 13yearold arrested in that case it. Just speaks to the tension there. But according to the mayor, they have seen some peaceful protests in light of the alten sterling shooting. That they have been people who are making their messages known in a peaceful calm way. But the fear is from the other outsiders, from outsidering caller i think you make a great point. And when you talk to the people on the street here, thats some of the frustration and despair i dont think is too strong of a word, francis. Because they felt like progress was being made. They felt like there was a dialogue beginning to be formed between police and some who are frustrated in this community. And now this has happened. And obviously everyone is concerned for the loss of life. On both sides of whatever other issues may be here. But there is that underlying concern that, hey, this is going to draw an even Deeper Division in this city that doesnt need that. And was to some extent working towards a dialogue here. So yeah, a lot of people believe that this is does not represent those who have been protesting here since the sterling death. And say that they believe and again, this is all reporting that comes from people in this community. So lets put it in that context. They believe it is people who are outside of that group. Outside of the area of concern here. Yeah, and speaking to the strides made by the Police Department we spoke with louisiana senator bill cassidy moments ago who said there have been strides made with policing and bridging the gap of tensions between certain communities and the department and more diversity seen in the police force and hes said along with other lawmakers as well that this this shoot skand the shooting death of these Police Officers may overshadow the strides that were made. Stick with me. As were going to take a quick break and be back after this. And these are the lungs. boy sorry. dad dont worry about it. vo at our house, we need things that are built to last. Thats why we got a subaru. avo love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Afdave stops working, but his aleve doesnt. Because aleve can last 4 hours longer than tylenol 8 hour. What will you do with your aleve hours . Now you cant spell nutriam i right . T nut, i mean whose to say its pronounced nutriton, anyway . My mixes contain delicious nuts, specially blended for your optimal nutrition. Thats right, i just changed a word in the english dictionary, forever. Planters. Nutrition starts with nut. Hi, need help finding a dependabya. Used car . You got it. Just say show me millions of of used cars for sale at the all new carfax. Com. Im worried about things like frame damage. Just say show me cars with no accidents reported. Pretty cool. Thats it. Thats the power of carfax. Find the cars you want, avoid the ones you dont, plus get a free carfax report with every listing. Start your used car search at carfax. Com. Some neighbors are Energy Saving superstars. How do you become a superstar . With pg es free Online Home Energy checkup. In just under 5 minutes you can see how you use energy and get quick and easy tips on how to keep your monthly bill down and your Energy Savings up. Dont let your neighbor enjoy all the savings. Take the Free Home Energy checkup. Honey, we need a new refrigerator. Visit pge. Com checkup and get started today. Msnbc following the breaking news out of baton rouge, louisiana, where it is a dark day figuratively and literally with the rain coming down there. Also very very tense with the shooting deaths of three baton rouge Police Officers after a gunfight earlier this morning. Three of those officers now dead. Others in the hospital wounded. One suspect also killed in the exchange of gunfire. And now the man hunt for possibly two more suspects. This as we are getting word that the suspect who was killed in the gunfight was wearing black fatigues, armed with a long gun. And now they are trying to secure that area as you see on the left side of your screen an area where that suspect is to make sure there are no other explosives or devices left behind that could jeopardize the safety of public and Police Officers around there. This as the president has been briefed on this shooting and the death of the Police Officer. And also as the governor is meeting with the families of these fallen Police Officers. And expected to give a briefing at 3 00 p. M. Local time. Thats 4 00 p. M. Eastern here. I want to bring my colleague in cleveland covering the Republican National convention where word of this shooting where security is already very high. Now there is news of this deadly shooting of Police Officers that they will take into consideration as well ari. That is right, francis. The louisiana delegation here in cleveland has issued its own statement obviously conveying their con doelgss and thoughts and prayers with their fellow louisianaens on this dark day. Weve heard from official, including one from the Trump Campaign who said as you would expect this incident will be noted in some way when the convention gets under way tomorrow. And as we look at the shots with squad cars moving through baton rouge here in cleveland, security is high as expected anyway. But these sorts of incidents and tensions around the country obviously will something that officials keep in mind. Were also trying to nail down more information about exactly what happened during this shootout this morning because officials have described it as times as an ambush style attack. We have not independently confirmed much about the suspect or suspects or their motives with regard to when and how they began firing in on police. Nbcs cal pare has been following the story. What can you tell us . That is very key to the story which is we dont know the motives and it is easy to jump to horrendous conclusions after what happened in dallas just ten days ago. In the last two weeks weve seen two scities go on locken. First dallas and now baton rouge. But this started with reports of shots fired in the eastern part of the city. And then we saw this response from police. And at some point this became a targeted shooting of Police Officers, at least three of them killed. But again we still dont know how this began and that is going to be key to this entire thing, as were basically a nation thats been on high alert now for some weeks. The incident in dallas where we saw Police Officers killed by a sniper from an elevated position. Louisiana is an open carry state. That is important to this as well. People do exercise their right to open carry. We saw that of course during the protest in dallas, texas also an open carry state. Ari you are sitting in an open carry state. There have been extensive meetings by Law Enforcement. Extensive meetings inside news organizations about how to cover protests in cleveland, knowing that you have the same thing in cleveland that you do in baton rouge, that you do in dallas. Which is you can carry a long rifle, an ar15 in public with just a permit. So all of that is the context that we have to look at this story through. Because we just dont know how at 9 00 a. M. Local time in eastern baton rouge this incident started. Did it start with citizens shooting on other citizens . Was this gang related . We dont know. Was this targeting of police from the beginning . That is something that not only investigators are going to have to work out but they are going to have to investigate it and were not even in the investigative stage yet. Were still in the lock down search for suspect stage. And you mentioned that linkage rathering open carry and the convention where im reporting from. That is not just a linkage that outside observers or journalists are making. Governor kasich now. The host of this convention site. Whether or not hes speaking because of his differences with trump, hes still involved. And hes already released a statement on twitter regarding the shad shooting. And the president of the police union sent a letter to john kasich having tim to reconsider and suspend open carry in some way. Guns arent allowed in the Convention Center anyway but there is discussion even today regarding whether that should somehow be changed. Obviously everyone on high alert as you look at these incidents and all that said, cal, ive emphasized on air today as we report a breaking story, that while there is certainly the context of Police Excessive force in the sterling case. Open doj investigation, tensions in baton rouge. That is a historical context. We dont have reporting yet that draws any direct linkage because we dont what happened when the shots were fired and what the suspects were doing. We dont know that yet cal. That is on the minds certainly of investigators but not confirmed at this point. The context is there but the evidence is not there yet because we are just in the early hours of this. Baton rouge police are basically sweeping the eastern part of the city. And baton rouge has some of the the worst gun violence in louisiana which has some of the worst gun violence in america. And when where he talk about what police have to do deal with on a day to day basis and what is becoming clear and front and center of that discussion and the difficulty that police have in this country is that they are dealing with so many firearms and dealing with a legal system that allows firearms to be openly carried. And as we look at the tick to be of what occurred this morning in baton rouge, here is what we know. At 9 00 a. M. Was of shots fired. Police responding to that call came under fire. So it is not clear if they were targeted. This certainly could have been some kind of a set up where police were targeted from the beginning. We just dont know right now. Thats right cal skrks the police have said thus far they view it as an ambush style attack. But we cant ind. Pently confirm that. And what it means. Something something something. Active crime scene or part of shots fire. Cal perry from msnbc headquarters in new york. Back to Francis River ray. In light of this shooting some of the Police Officers were brought to a local hospital there where we have a reporter from wafb, graham ulkins. Graham, are you at our lady of the lake hospital . And is that where a majority of the wounded officers were brought . Reporter that is correct. It is a Level Two Trauma Center which is the highest level we have in baton rouge. Five officers were brought here. Officers and or deputies its not been clarified. We know there are victims from the baton rouge Police Department and also the east baton rouge sheriffs office. Five were brought here. Three pronounced dead here at this hospital. The two others, one is listed in Critical Condition. The other is listed in fair condition. There is another hospital, baton rouge general which is less than a mile away from here. We know an east baton rouge sheriffs deputy was brought there with non lifethreatening injuries. Two of them in fair condition and one in Critical Condition. And here at our lady of the lake is where the governor has come, the chief of police, the sheriff, the mayor of baton rouge are all here inside this hospital meeting with the families. Just being here to support the families in this very difficult time. Describe that scene for us. I can imagine just so heart wrenching for these families that have to drive up to this hospital to hear this news. Have you seen family members, loved one, other members of the Police Department coming . I know the Police Department is very busy as well given the ongoing man hunt. But talk about what you have seen. We have seen ive been here since about 9 30 or so this morning and weve just seen dozens and dozens of cars, police cars from all different agencies. Louisiana state police. The lsu. State police. Louisiana university. Lsu police are also hear to show their support. And weve seen some family members streaming in. Their armed Police Officers with big rifles drawn stationed a the entrance. The hospital is still on lock down. Since there is an ongoing threat. But we have just seen a lot of cars in dozens that have rushed in here. They dont stop for long. They are at the check point. The officer waves them through. And that is a really all that weve been able to see from where we are stationed. They put the media right outside the entrance of the hospital here but lots of somber faces. Lots of blank stares, the people driving into this hospital. I can imagine that is the case with the three of the those Police Officers who died there. Any indication at this point at all of the family members of these Police Officers have been notified . As far as weve know they have all been notified. I did ask that question if there were family members for all of the officers inside the hospital. Police were not able to confirm that. But we were told early on the families have been notified. So were assuming that those who were in town were able to make it to the hospital. The state Police Spokesman who came out of hospital to give us some of the news said that there were a lot of people, that it was absolutely packed in the Emergency Department here and weve also seen lots of officers hugging, embracing and lots of Community Members stopping by to drop off cases of water. It is brutally hot here today. Were in the middle of a thunderstorm right now over the city but weve seen lots of people, members of the public just showing up here even though they are being asked not to with water and just giving hugs. We saw one citizen just with an officer whos stationed out by the hospital. An area where im sure so many people in the community are needing that support and based on what weve seen and what weve heard in dallas t toll that it takes emotionally and physically on even the doctor, the nurses who are there to treat these officers. Weve heard from those dallas doctors about that and how difficult it was. I can imagine that is a similar scenario there at the our lady of the lake hospital in baton rouge where these officers now are. And others being treated. All right. Graham ulkins, thank you so much. I want to bring back in calip i perry. New information you are getting and as we know when it comes to the community in dealing with the Law Enforcement the Police Department there with their loss of at least three of these officers that have died a very active scene and trying to find maybe one or two suspects who are still out there. Yeah. And a Police Office and a Police Jurisdiction that is now really in so many ways under siege with people coming in off shift. And were hearing about that as well. Wafb and we were just on with one of their reporter, is reporting that two people have been taken into custody at a walmart in baton rouge. They are reporting that two gentlemen who, quote, fit the descriptions of the suspects were changing clothes in that walmart and have been tablg r taken to state police headquarters. Again all of the same caveats apply mere. Very early on in this. Unconfirmed reports by nbc news. And we dont have a clear picture of the suspects at large. The lock down in baton rouge has not been lifted. There are still police in the streets there. So that is maybe an indication that police are not at all ready to call this scene not active any longer. But again, wafb reporting in baton rouge that at a walmart, two individuals that fit the description of the suspects have been taken into the custody. Well see if maybe this tends to lift that shut down of eastern baton rouge. But as of right now all of the same rules apply in eastern baton rouge. They are asking people to stay out of area. Lot of Law Enforcement there. When we first started reporting details of the shooting it was a very clear sunny day. Now wii see its been hampered by a lot of rain. This as the baton rouge Police Department are dealing with the deaths of three Police Officers killed in this gunfight that started early this morning. One suspect was killed in the exchange of gunfire. Now that we have confirmation that that suspect was wearing black fatigues, armed with a rifle. Law enforcement still trying to determine if there was body armor there. We know they had to bring in robots to make sure the area was cleared. Any explosive devices that could harm the area. But as were hearing from cal and also our affiliate there, the two men were taken into custody at a local walmart there because they were changing clothes. When we spoke to Law Enforcement earlier they said to be very mindful. They were almost dprat in their plea to the public in asking for help, if you see anybody in fatigue, wearing blacked, armed or with masks to contact them if they notice anything spisht. We dont know the details o of what led up to the shooting, jim, but when you have reporting there that the suspect who was fatally shot, he was wearing fatigues. And then reports of these two people possibly detained. It really points to the fact that this was a planned, planned attack. Well it looks that way. We dont have a report of innocent citizens who were shot at the scene like a random sniper. We havent heard any reports of a robbery attempt. As cal reported there was a call, a 911 call of shots fired and the officers responded to the shots fired. As far as we know, the only persons injured are the officers and the shooter. So we dont have a report of any other crime. We dont have a report of any other citizens like a random sniper would kill. So given the climate that baton rouge is living through, you know, four people just arrested this week. Burglarizing a gun store. They use it as a major lead category. They dont definitively say it but you cant dismiss it out of hands either because it would be dismissing the obvious and major lead you have. As a major lead category that is what you look at. You also look could it be Something Else . A robbery, random shooter . Some other disgruntled all of those things come into play. There was a picture in the Washington Post the other day of a young woman who was arrested standing in an elegant gown in front of the police. Certainly a really iconic picture. But if you go down in the story in the post, there is also persons in black fatigues carrying a rifle in front of the police line. And dressed in military gear and with persons with military insignia on their collars and blouse boots and all black fatigues. So there is people out there dressed that way. You know what group are they part of . The new black panther party, the liberation front. There is different groups. So, you know, are they part of that . Are they part of that and peaceful . Are they part of that and violent . These are all things vegts e investigators have to look at. It is good news from what you have reported that they have two people in custody in the walmart that were going to change clothes. So that begs the question, are they involved at all . It could be erroneous. Maybe they are not involved at all. It could be they are actors with the shooter. They have the shooters identity clearly. And they are going to know all about him. Maybe they already do. And were going to know more when the governor and police chief and everyone speak us to in the next couple hours. And hopefully they will put out more to help the community be safe. Right. We dont have that information independently confirmed as far as the two people detained at the walmart who was seen changing clothes at this point. But if there is a connection to this shooting, jim, what kind of questioning . How does that questioning start and what direction does it take . Well you start out with, you know, the connections to the shooter. Are these two people arrested at the walmart in anyway connected to the shooter . First are they relatives . Connected by blood. Second, are they acquaintances, neighbor, friends. Did they share a cell . Work in the same business . Members of the same group . So you look for that basic connection. Of course if you think they were involved in a crime. Were they there this morning. What were they doing this morning . Basic police questions. Where were you . What were you doing there . Why are you in a walmart. They will be able to sort through that. The hardest part is getting them in hand so you can sort through whether they are suspects or witnesses or innocent parties and they could be innocent apparents. I dont think we should automatically think these are the suspects. Even people going to walmart to steal clothes and change clothes. So you can have suspicious activity from somebody who picks a bad day to steal clothes. We just dont have those answers but detectives will be able to sort that out. And jim as were taking a live look here at this image where heavy Law Enforcement there in the zreets of baton rouge in this part after the shooting death of three Police Officers and possibly two dog mmm, beneful healthy weight is so good. And lowcalorie. Keeps me looking good. Hey, i get some looks, i hear the whistles. vo beneful healthy weight, a delicious, lowcalorie meal your dog will love. With wholesome rice, real chicken, and accents of vegetables and apples. At clorox 2 weve turned removing stains into a science. Now pretreat with clorox 2 watch stains disappear right before your eyes. Remove 4 times more stains than detergent alone. Im terhe is. At golf. But id like to keep being terrible at golf for as long as i can. New patented ensure enlive has hmb plus 20 grams of protein to help rebuild muscle. For the strength and energy to do what you love. New ensure enlive. Always be you. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on all of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Described as an ambush style shooting. When there was 911 call of a person dressed in black fatigue, armed with a rifle and then following reports of gunfire and shots exchanged there. I want to bring in eugene professor of criminal justice. And weve been hearing confirmation this one suspect who has been killed was wearing fatigues. Was armed with a long gun. They are still trying to determine if there was body armor there. But telling as far as where this might have come from. Yeah and i think it is important. While you are in the midst of trying to get these people identified to remember that there is also independent of this search the need to bring these people to justice. And that sometimes gets overlooked. So there have to be cool heads on the ground. You need firearms discipline but you also need to realize that possibly in a year or two one or more of these people is going to be in a criminal court somewhere. Hopefully they are getting the forensics together. The crime scene work is together. Interviewing t video, locking out any defenses they might have. So very much the investigative side is very important that you are thinking 18 months hence when this case will presumably be in court, if you could identify these other individuals. But eugene in the shortterm there is this maunt as were seeing here. Certain parts of baton rouge under lock down. Word again, not confirmed by us here, of people being detained, questioning neared. There is. Gripping this community. Yeah. And once again, you know, this conversation not about legitimate gun owners. The vast majority of them, you know, are not a threat to anybody. They are in rural america. But this is a reminder for anybody that tuned in the night that dallas occurred. That was a city under siege. The police were scrambling. Nobody new the extent of that plan and who was involved and whether they would still be out there in a while. And we might again dodge the bullet here on this one and be able to bring these individuals. But sooner or later this overall lack of this insecurity in our society. When the police arent even safe, we have to reckon with that. That if the wrong people get weapons. Weve got unstable people. But if you get a Sophisticated Group of people that can lay siege to a city, that is a very serious place to be in our country. Going into this extraordinaryil concerning political season where we all need to take a step back here. Theres at only hate speech directed at police people. There is hate speech being directed at both of these candidates and we need to cool it. Because if you read social media relative to the police or other public officials, i cant be the only one who reads it and hopes they are not real people writing this stuff. There are a lot of things to be concerned about. And no matter where you stand politically it is a risk to our democracy when Police Officers are being shot, when candidates, whether they are republican or democrat are being threatened. It is one thing they disagree. But these are real serious issues as we come up on two conventions and weve now had a total of almost a dozen Police Officers shot down in the streets in three different cities. And as that rhetoric is continued by some who have that antipolice rhetoric and also this light of baton rouge with the plot there to harm police. That the four people who are arrested. One as young as 12 or 13 years old in that plot of stealing ammunition and guns from that gun shop. Eugene odonnell, thank you for your perspectives. I though you are going to stick with us but well take a quick break take on any road with intuitive allwheel drive. The nissan rogue, murano and pathfinder. Now get 0 apr for up to 72 months, plus 500 bonus cash. Jen stops working, but her aleve doesnt. Hey mom because aleve can last 4 hours longer than tylenol 8 hour. What will you do with your aleve hours . Ssoon, shell be bingestudying. Get back to great. This week these 1subject notebooks just one cent each. Office depot officemax. Gear up for school. Gear up for great. Using 60,000 points from my chase ink card i bought all the framework. Wire. And plants needed to give my shop. A face. No one will forget. See what the power of points can do for your business. Learn more at chase. Com ink we are hearing for the first time from the president of the United States that a statement he just released about the shooting that killed three baton rouge Police Officers this morning. It goes on to read by the president i condemn in the strongest sense of the word the attack on Law Enforcement in baton rouge. For the second time in two weeks Police Officers have put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault. These are attacks on Public Service on the rule of law and on Civilized Society and they have to stop the president goes on in the statement offering support to the state of louisiana and the government and also goes on to say we may not yet know the motives for the attack but i want to be clear there is no justification against Law Enforcement. None. This is the work of coward whose speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in baton rouge, the officers in dallas were fellow americans, part of our community, part of our community, with people who loved and needed them and they need us now all of us to be at their best. The First Official statement from president obama upon hearing from him of news of this shooting that has left three baton rouge Police Officers killed. I want to bring in director of the black Law Enforcement alliance. And mark as were hearing from the president in his own words saying it is the second time hes had to come out as far as dallas, as far as baton rouge and yet here he is again offering his support and once again condolences. Yeah it is appropriate. It is timely from the president. I think from anyone involved in Government Service as a matter of fact, i think the entire civilian population really should be sharing those sentiments that the president expressed. It is important to protect and defend. And support Law Enforcement. Even in the midst of those individuals who may have issues with the manner in which policing is done now. I think there has to be a common sense of decency and humanity especially in dealing with the loss of life of individuals who have sworn to serve and protect. You know, these individuals make many sacrifices, are exposed to extreme dangers, all voluntarily. And it not only for them but for their families it is very stressful and traumatic time for families of individuals, Police Officers and other Law Enforcement professionals. Because your vulnerability is exposed. The underbelly, the soft under belly of your profession is exposed and it really causes some instability not only in your professional and Work Environment but this your personal life as well. So the family of Law Enforcement extends way beyond the actual individuals in the profession but to family and friends as well. You are talking about that instability but also in essence there is a sense of safety and security that is jeopardized when it comes to not only the Police Officers themselves. But to the people that they have you know, are dedicated to protect. Right. That is what makes us such a scary scenario. And as i indicated earlier, you know, it is a Police Officers nightmare. But it also destabilizes a lot of Different Things in the community. It destabilizes and has impact on the ability of police and community to Work Together to communicate together, to trust and respect and honor each other. And what happens immediately after these events of course is a national mourning. A collective mourning. Which is the decent and humane thing that should occur. But moving forward, the question is how will these set of events, both dallas and now in baton rouge impact a relationship on Law Enforcement Community Moving Forward for days, weeks, months to cocome. Especially when you are dealing with the era of Police Reform calls. It is going to be very substantive and something we really have to keep an eye on. A conversation we had after dallas and now a conversation that well have once again after baton rouge, with three of their own, Police Officers killed in the shoot out. I want to bring in. Thank you very much mark for being with us. As i know you will stick by us as we continue this conversation and our coverage. I want to bring in dierdra willis. I understand you are at the hospital, talk a little about what you have been seeing and what you have experienced there. Absolutely. Good afternoon. I am here at our lady of the lake hospital. I arrived a little after the shooting and when i pulled up actually i was stopped by a Baton Rouge Police officer with a rifle. Not a regular gun but a huge assault, you know, rifle. And he checked my car. They let me in. And since then there are about 10 officers out here with rifles now. As you can imagine it is a tense scene. The as tense moment for everyone no matter which location you are at. If it is at airline where the shooting actually took place this morning or here where officers are being brought. Officers have been brought here who were hurt, who were shot. And some of the officers who had passed away were here as well. Governor John Bel Edwards just left the hospital not long ago after meeting with the families of those officers. There was also, francis, a man who pulled up and was detained for having a gun in his car. His mother finally arrived and the first thing she asked when she got here was has my son been shot and killed . And he was later released. He said he was only here for a sore throat but as you can imagine officers are tense and you cant take any chances on what could or may happen after everything thats happened today. Dierdra has to be really difficult for them and tense at the hospital on two fronts. The fact there is still this man hunt for one, maybe even two suspects still out there. And i understand the hospital has been on and off lock down. Also on the other sense of dealing with these Police Officers who have been hurt and those Police Officers and families who have died and the mourning that that is taking place in the hospital. Reporter you know, francis, it is unbelievable the strength that these officers have. They are here in solidarity protecting us. Protecting the hospital, protecting themselves. And then you see the massive number of sheriffs deputies and Baton Rouge Police cars who come in with their sirens on. And you know in your heart. You get chills because you know that they are coming to represent and be with their colleagues and their friends and men who wear the same uniform as them. And it is hurtful. So while they have a job to do as you can imagine their emotions are running as well. And you can see it in their faces. Well, we are waiting a press conference at 4 00 eastern. That is 3 p. M. Your time deed rra. And we understand all the families of the three officers who have died have been identn d notified. Will the governor identify the officers who have been killed . Reporter i do not know if he will but i know they were waiting to get word to all the families and i i dont know if thats happened so far but i will keep an ear out to let you know if those officers are identified. I did hear that there was a fourth officer who was shot and killed and that came from state representative ted james. I dont know how true that is. But i did hear that. And he did mention that. So four officers now. We did hear that on our air but we have not independently confirmed that. We understand the three officers killed were members of the baton rouge Police Department. And also we have heard from a lawmaker there that the other who may have died is the sheriffs deputy. Again that is something, thats information that we have not confirmed. Absolutely. Even more tragic the death of three officers killed is bad enough but to have to up that number to four, that is information were still waiting to confirm and maybe the governor will and the Louisiana State place my confirm with us as well when they have their briefing at 4 00 p. M. Eastern. Deedra any indication now as far as the other officers . I understand where you are in our lady of the lake hospital, there is still one officer in Critical Condition and one in fair condition. Can you tell us anymore more about them . No one has come out to speak with media as of now but i will get on that and see what kind of information we can get on the other officers and of course if we can get the names and faces of the officers who have passed away. So difficult for the department, so difficult for their families and the community there. Deedra wilson, with our nbc station there in baton rouge. Thank you so much for the update. Youre welcome. And well take a quick break now you cant spell nutriam i right . T nut, i mean whose to say its pronounced nutriton, anyway . My mixes contain delicious nuts, specially blended for your optimal nutrition. Thats right, i just changed a word in the english dictionary, forever. Planters. Nutrition starts with nut. Im not a customer, but im calling about that credit scorecard. to dog give it. Sure its free for everyone. Oh well thats nice and checking your score wont hurt your credit. Oh to dog im so proud of you. Well thank you. Get your free credit scorecard at discover. Com. Even if youre not a customer. Following breaking news out of baton rouge louisiana, where there was a gunfight this morning that resulted in three baton rouge Police Officers shot and killed. A few others who have been hurt in this. Also one suspect who was killed in the gunfight. And now a man hunt on the streets of baton rouge and the surrounding areas for as many as two other suspects who are on the run. Police described to us as far as reports they received this morning that a person dressed in black fatigue was seen walking the streets here in this area, carrying a rifle. And soon after there were reports of shots fired. In our conversation with the mayor of baton rouge, mayor kip holden who describes when Police Officers responded to the shootings, that they were met with what he calls ambushstyle gunfire. A tense situation, a very scary situation and sad there in baton rouge as they are mourning these three officers killed. But yet also looking for as many as two other people on the streets who may have been involved in this shooting. Joining me from cleveland where hes covering the Republican National convention is ari melber. Also my colleague here in new york. Cal perry. And we seem to be getting a new information via some audio records that may shed light into what happened initially. Yeah and i think lit shed light on why we heard the term ambush being used by officials. Were pulling this down from a website that reports and monitors Police Scanner traffic. I want to make it very clear to our viewers this has not been officially released by police. But you are going to hear the call into police over Police Radios by officers who have just arrived at the saern. Take listen. Shots fired, officer down. Shots fired offer r officer down. Got a city officer down. Shots fired. Reporter gives you there a sense of the real horror that is to be a Police Officer when you arrive at a scene and immediately come under gunfire. And weve heard those records, the initial video from local news cameras that would seem to indicate very direct fire, fire that is very controlled fire. So certainly as this man hunt continues in eastern baton rouge and really it is the eastern part of the is it they police seem to be focusing on. Those records give you an idea of the level of alert that police are now on in that part of the city and just perhaps a
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.