Texas Governor Calls Louisiana Counterpart With Condolences After Police Killings

Austin, TX -- The Texas governor spoke with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Sunday following the shooting deaths of three police officers in Baton Rouge earlier that morning.

Officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office were involved in the shooting around 9 a.m. CST. Several officers were shot in what is being called an ambush, three of the law enforcement members sustaining fatal wounds.

The officers' deaths come ten days after five officers were killed by a gunman in downtown Dallas. The shootings come against a backdrop of rising tensions between police and members of the public following the high-profile cases of black men being shot by police throughout the country.

In a statement from the governor's office, Greg Abbott is said to have expressed his condolences to his Louisiana counterpart as the commiserated over shared losses in the wake of police shootings in their respective states.

"Governor Greg Abbott today spoke with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards following the heinous killing and wounding of Louisiana peace officers," the official statement reads. "They discussed their shared grief about the back-to-back similar tragedies in our neighboring states."

Abbott is said to have made available any resources from Texas law enforcement in Louisiana might need as they deal with the latest tragedy and continue their investigation into the shooting.

"Governor Abbott offered any assistance needed for Louisiana to respond to the ongoing law enforcement needs as well the healing needs of the affected families, the police force, and the entire State of Louisiana," reads the statement issued at around 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Governor Edwards was thankful and said he was appreciative of the outreach he had already received from the Texas Department of Public Safety," the statement concludes. "The two governors concluded their call by expressing a strengthened joint commitment to protect law enforcement officers and asking for all to pray for Baton Rouge and our nation."

Texas and Louisiana are both "open carry" states, where licensed gun owners are allowed to walk around freely displaying their weapons as a show of their 2nd Amendment rights. Louisiana is a longstanding "open carry" state while Texas enacted its version of the law on Jan. 1.

Both occurring in close succession, the shootings in both states are calling attention to the perils of "open carry" laws. In Dallas, the mayor publicly stated that officers protecting a peaceful rally against police brutality had been initially confused in trying to identify a gunman, given the prevalence of march participants donning weapons per "open carry" provisions.