Dead Baton Rouge Police Assassin Identified

Baton Rouge police have identified the shooter who killed three law enforcement officers and wounded three others.

Gavin Eugene Long of Kansas City, Missouri, attacked Baton Rouge police on his birthday. Two other men are being questioned by authorities. They were picked up across the river in the town of Addis.

The attack is still under investigation as is the suspect, Long. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that “a person briefed on the investigation” says that Long belonged to an “anti-government” organization called the New Freedom Group.

The group either doesn’t exist or is incredibly backward in the use of social media. Several searches failed to reveal any group on Twitter or Facebook calling itself the “New Freedom Group.” There is no known website. Discussion boards don’t even mention the group before today.

That’s not to say that the New Freedom Group doesn’t exist. But the left will want to blow it up into a vast right-wing conspiracy of some kind. Given the paucity of net presence, there are probably ladies’ bridge clubs with more members.

Some details are emerging about the shooter. He apparently is hanging with the wrong crowd:

Just went to the most recent listed address for the alleged #BatonRouge shooter in KC… A man answered the door with an AK-47

— Megan Brilley (@meganbrilley) July 17, 2016

He served as a Marine and was married and divorced in 2011. As far as his other affiliations — if there are any — they are unknown at this time.

There was a spike in threats against the cops last week, according to The Advocate:

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said Tuesday officers uncovered a “credible threat” against police from one of four burglars who broke into a Government Street pawn shop and stole eight handguns.

Seventeen-year-old Antonio Thomas, caught by police on Government Street shortly after the burglary of the Cash America pawn shop around 2 a.m. Saturday, told detectives he and the other burglars intended to harm officers, Dabadie said.

“We’re going to look for bullets to kill police officers,” Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge police spokesman, said the burglar told detectives after he was caught.

Dabadie said the threat to officers, in part, explained the heavy police presence — with many in riot gear — at weekend protests.

I can’t imagine being the spouse of a police officer at this time.