Montrell Lyle Jackson, a 32-year-old African-American male, was a Corporal with the Baton Rouge Police Department. His life was cut short on the morning of July 17, 2016, in a calculated and brutal ambush. The day unfolded when law enforcement received reports of a man armed with a rifle on Airline Highway. As officers arrived at the scene near a convenience store, they were ambushed by a lone gunman.
The gunman, later identified as 29-year-old Gavin Eugene Long of Kansas City, Missouri,
was a former Marine. Dressed in black and armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a pistol, Long targeted the officers with chilling precision. He moved tactically, avoiding civilians while focusing his fire on law enforcement. In the ensuing chaos, Corporal Jackson was fatally wounded. Two other officers, Baton Rouge Police Officer Matthew Gerald and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola, were also killed in the attack. Three other officers were wounded.
The shootout was intense but brief, lasting less than ten minutes. Responding SWAT officers engaged Long, and he was ultimately shot and killed at the scene by an officer who took aim from approximately 100 yards away. Investigators believe Long acted alone and may have been motivated by a desire for retaliation against police in the wake of recent officer-involved shootings of black men. Authorities found no evidence linking him to any organized group, though he was associated with black separatist and sovereign citizen movements. Because the sole suspect was killed at the scene, there were no arrests, trials, or convictions in connection with the murder of Corporal Montrell Lyle Jackson. In the days following his death, Jackson was remembered as a dedicated officer and a loving husband and father to an infant son.
