Sources: Gunman behind Baton Rouge shooting carried out attack on his 29th birthday
BATON ROUGE (FOX 26/AP) - The gunman responsible for the shooting deaths of three Baton Rouge police officers was identified Sunday afternoon, hours after the shooting occurred.
A law enforcement official identified 29-year-old Gavin Long of Kansas City, Missouri as the gunman found deceased near a vehicle at the scene. Sources communicated to FOX News Channel that Long carried out the attack on his 29th birthday.
Officials said the officers were shot Sunday after responding to a call about a man walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle at approximately 8:40 a.m. outside a store in Baton Rouge -- about a mile from police headquarters.
When officers responded to the call, they were met by gunfire — and for several long minutes, didn't know where it was coming from.
Nearly 2½ minutes after the first "Officer down!" report, an officer on the scene is heard on radio traffic saying they don't know the shooter's location.
A statement that the location is known comes nearly six minutes after the first shots are reported.
About 30 seconds later, someone says shots are still being fired.
Three officers were confirmed dead in the attack. Three others are injured, including one listed in critical condition.
Sunday evening, police descended on a home in Kansas City that was listed for a man named Gavin Long, but no reports of findings, if any, have been released.
According to the Associated Press, Long briefly attended the University of Alabama.
University spokesman Chris Bryant said Sunday evening that Long, was a student for one semester in the spring of 2012.
Bryant says university police had no interaction with Long during that time.