By Ian Cummings
The Kansas City Star
BATON ROUGE, La. — The investigation into what led Gavin Eugene Long of Kansas City to kill three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers continued Tuesday as funeral arrangements were announced for two of the slain men.
Also Tuesday, a newly seen video from the shootout, taken by a man who found himself trapped in his truck at a car wash, was posted online by “Inside Edition.”
Police, along with state and federal investigators, are working to retrace Long’s path from Kansas City to Baton Rouge, where he died Sunday in a shootout with police.
On Tuesday, members of the public mourned the slain officers, and makeshift memorials sprang up across the city, including at the B-Quick convenience store where Long ambushed the police officers and sheriff’s deputies near a busy intersection.
By afternoon, the spot had accumulated an assortment of red, white and blue balloons, plus stuffed animals and a statue in the shape of a police badge inscribed with a prayer.
Law enforcement officials have said they are examining information from Long’s phone. In Kansas City, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how Long obtained the two rifles and handgun that he used in the shooting.
Many questions remain about how Long arrived in Baton Rouge, how much time he spent here and what he did in the days leading up to the shooting.
A glimpse of how Long spent his time in Baton Rouge is provided in a video that appears to have been recorded by him shortly before the shooting.
The video, posted online by The Advocate, follows Long as he drives around Baton Rouge, promoting his book and doling out life advice.
Over about 10 minutes, Long carries on a mostly one-sided conversation with a man he seems to have just met as they drive along Plank Road in northern Baton Rouge, about two miles from the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed by a police officer.
Long briefly mentions Sterling but says he wasn’t there for the demonstrations that followed that shooting. “I’m not really into protesting, but I do education,” Long says in the video. The protesters, he says, will be gone in a month.
Huey Newton, a political activist and co-founder of the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and Long’s travels in Africa come in for mentions as Long advises his passenger to work in multiple trades to guarantee success, not to have children until he is financially stable and to only patronize black-owned businesses.
Long does not mention in the video any plans for the shooting that was to come, but he does frequently strike a militant tone.
“If you don’t stand up for your rights,” he says, “then you have no rights.”
Louisiana State Police Lt. J.B. Slaton said authorities did not plan to release any new details Tuesday.
“Right now, we are concentrating our attention on the lives of the officers and their families,” Slaton said.
In the video posted by “Inside Edition,” law officers are seen moving into position and police cars are rushing to the scene. It captures the sound of some of the gunshots.
A man, who remained anonymous, spoke to “Inside Edition” and described the scene.
“The first thing I saw was the actual gunman walking behind my truck” wearing a black ski mask and black clothing and carrying a beige-colored gun.
Funerals for the two slain Baton Rouge police officers were set for Friday and Monday.
Services for Officer Matthew Gerald will be Friday at the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge. He was a Marine and Army veteran and will be buried in the Louisiana National Cemetery in Zachary, La.
On Monday, services for Officer Montrell Jackson will be held at the Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge.
Services for East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Garafola were pending.
All three officers lived in Denham Springs, a quiet bedroom community across the Amite River from Baton Rouge, which has been in turmoil since the July 5 fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by a police officer.
That killing was captured on video, sparking days of protests and a militarized response from police.
The deaths of the three Baton Rouge officers came amid a spate of law enforcement officers killed, including five at a protest in Dallas, two at a courthouse in Michigan and a Kansas City, Kan., police captain shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a reported drive-by shooting.
In Baton Rouge on Tuesday, faith-based advocacy group Together Baton Rouge, which has recently pushed for police reforms, held a public event at which leaders mourned the deaths of the officers and urged community unity.
Copyright 2016 The Kansas City Star