On Sunday, an attack on Baton Rouge law enforcement left three officers dead and three others wounded, just as the country was mourning the deaths of five Dallas police officers last week. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he condemns “in the strongest sense of the word” the shootings and called them a “cowardly and reprehensible” act. Here is his full statement.
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 who 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 servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop.
I’ve offered my full support, and the full support of the federal government, to Governor Edwards, Mayor Holden, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. And make no mistake—justice will be done.
We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: There is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas—they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now—all of us—to be at our best.
Today, on the Lord’s day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge, with the police officers who’ve been wounded, and with the grieving families of the fallen. May God bless them all.”
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, posted a message on Facebook (FB), saying “How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order.”
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, issued a statement, calling for people to “stand together” to reject the violence. “There is no justification for violence, for hate, for attacks on men and women who put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and communities,” she said in a statement.
One suspect was killed. Authorities have said that two other suspects may be at large, and the police are actively investigating.
This post was updated with Clinton’s statement.
