Several police officers shot, two killed in Louisiana - reports

A lone gunman opened fire on police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sunday, injuring at least seven – including two who are feared dead and a third who has been injured, an official said.

“Law enforcement is working a shooting incident involving officers,” Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.

Police received a call of "suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle," CNN reported. When police arrived, the man opened fire.

Police sergeant Don Coppola told CBS that “several officers were struck by gunfire” but he did not know “the extent of injury”. However, reports said the remaining officers were hospitalized with critical injuries.

A police spokesman said the scene had been “contained”. It was not clear if any suspects had been detained.

Baton Rouge has been wracked by tense protests in recent weeks following the shooting deaths of a black man, Alton Sterling, by a police officer, and then the killings of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, a few days later.

It's been an emotionally charged few days across the country because of the protests stemming from the Alton Brown shooting, and the ambush on Dallas police officers where a sniper killed five officers.

The shooting follows the recent killing of a black man by police in the city. That, and another police shooting in Minnesota, led to protests in the US.

Kip Holden, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, said Sunday authorities were still trying to get a handle on the situation, but added, “The count is three officers dead possibly.”

“There is still an active scene. They are investigating,” he said. “Right now we are trying to get our arms around everything.”