Gavin Long killed by SWAT sharpshooter from 100 yards away: ‘It was a hell of a shot’

As Baton Rouge police officers went about their normal routines on Sunday morning, they didn’t know that a trained killer was stalking them.

Several law enforcement agencies described Gavin Long’s movements in chilling detail during a press conference on Monday.

Long, who turned 29 that day, arrived in Baton Rouge six days earlier. While his activities in the days prior to the shootings are unknown, police believe he tailed officers to familiarize himself with their hangouts.

Just before 9 a.m. Sunday, Long spotted a police car parked outside a convenience store.

Long, dressed head-to-toe in black, carried a IWR Tavor SAR 5.56 rifle (for deadly accuracy at close range) and a 9mm pistol. A M4 assault rifle was staged in his car.

He parked near the convenience store and approached the police vehicle with his weapon aimed and ready. But the vehicle was empty.

While he stalked the police, Long ignored shoppers who called 911 to report “a dude with a rifle”.

An officer was vacuuming his car at a gas station at the other end of the plaza.

Long parked his rented Chevrolet Malibu behind a fitness center and approached the gas station on foot.

But by the time he got to the station the officer was gone.

Long sprinted across the plaza back toward the convenience store.

Long ran along the side of the convenience store and encountered 2 police officers: Montrell Jackson, 32, and 41-year-old Matthew Gerald.

Jackson was the first to die. Gerald was wounded in the attack.

Another officer who was with them — East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola, 45, took cover behind a dumpster.

As Long fled around the side of the building, Garafola left his cover and tried to get to the wounded officer.

But Long rounded the corner again and engaged Garafola in a firefight.

Garafola was shot and killed in a hail of bullets.

“My deputy went down fighting. He returned fire to the very end,” East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said.

Long turned his attention back to Gerald, who was trying to crawl away, and shot him twice more, killing him.

Now 3 police officers lay dead.

Long hopped a wall and sprinted back toward the fitness center where he left his car.

He spotted an officer sitting in his patrol unit. The officer was running the plate on Long’s rental car.

Long fired through the front windshield, hitting the officer multiple times. That officer is listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

Long shot and wounded two more officers before a SWAT team sharpshooter killed him.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said the kill shot was fired over the length of football field, between 2 structures.

It was a hell of a shot,” Dabadie said.