Obama briefed on murders of officers in Baton Rouge

UPDATED

President Obama was briefed Sunday on the shooting deaths of three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — the second major attack on law enforcement officers in the U.S. in 10 days.

Mr. Obama, who was criticized for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement last week at a memorial service for five assassinated police officers in Dallas, asked his advisers to give him updates throughout the day on the Baton Rouge shootings, a White House official said.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, blamed the shootings in part on the administration.

“How many law enforcement people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country?” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. “We demand law and order.”

The White House has contacted local officials in Baton Rouge and offered “any assistance necessary,” the official said.

Mr. Obama spent most of the past week meeting with police officials and civil rights leaders amid rising tensions between minority communities and law enforcement agencies.

The president also took part Thursday night in a televised town hall meeting on the crisis in which he spoke with Cameron Sterling, the 15-year-old son of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Baton Rouge 12 days ago.

That shooting has led to numerous protests in Baton Rouge, hundreds of arrests and the formation on Saturday of a New Black Panther Party chapter in the city.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G. K. Butterfield said the group offered “our deepest sympathies to the families of the officers killed and injured in today’s shooting in Baton Rouge.”

“Tensions are high in our country, but violence does not lead to justice and targeting law enforcement does not bring about solutions,” said Mr. Butterfield, North Carolina Democrat. “The CBC continues to call for peace and we stand by state and federal officials as they investigate to find the individuals responsible for today’s horrific event.”