“It is so important that everyone … right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further,” Obama said.
The gunman, Gavin Long, an African-American who had served for five years in the Marines, was also killed.
The shooter shot and killed three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers Sunday, less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police here in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide.
In a video, posted on YouTube, Long said that should “anything happen” to him, he was “not affiliated” with any group.
“I’m affiliated with the spirit of justice, nothing more nothing less. I thought my own thoughts, I made my own decisions,” he said.
“We need to temper our words and open our hearts… all of us,” the president stressed.
