Vigil planned for Baton Rouge police at LSU

Members of the Baton Rouge, La., community will gather on Wednesday at Louisiana State University’s campus to mourn three police officers who were killed Sunday in an ambush at a local gas station.

The event will be held “in the spirit of coming together as #OneBatonRouge,” according to a Facebook event page for the vigil, which will be held at 2 p.m. at the LSU Memorial Tower.

The slain officers were 32-year-old Montrell Jackson, a 10-year-veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department; 41-year-old Matthew Gerald, who had been with the department for less than a year; and 45-year-old East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy Brad Garafola, a 24-year veteran of the department, according to Sheriff Sid Gautreaux III.

The gunman, Gavin Long, ambushed those officers and was "certainly seeking out police," the Louisiana state police said Monday, according to The Associated Press. Long was killed by other officers.

Since the attack on Sunday, vigils have been held across the state. Flowers and cards appeared in a makeshift memorial outside of the hospital where two other officers who were injured in the attack are being treated.

In response to community support, the Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center extended operating hours for Monday and Tuesday, the The (Lafayette, La.) Daily Advertiser reported.

On social media, many are using the hashtag #OneBatonRouge to share vigil event details and call for an end to violence in the community.