A pawnshop burglary and a home raid by law enforcement on Monday are connected to an odious plot to kill police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. State Police Colonel Michael D. Edmonson said that there was “substantial, credible evidence” that some sort of attack on police was going to occur. Four suspects are in custody, with one being a juvenile. At the pawnshop, eight weapons were stolen, along with ammunition, after police shot Alton Sterling on July 5. Six firearms were recovered, but the other two remain unaccounted for at this time (via WBRZ [ABC News affiliate]):
17-year-old Antonio Thomas, 23-year-old Trashone Coats, 20-year-old Malik Bridgewater and a 13-year-old male have been arrested in connection to the burglary. Thomas, Bridgewater and the juvenile were booked into parish prison for simple burglary and theft of a firearm and Coats was charged with illegal possession of a stolen firearm."This was substantial, credible information that we received that was going to cause harm to police officers in the Baton Rouge are," State Police Colonel Mike Edmonson said at a press conference Tuesday evening.
Monday, federal authorities raided a home in Old South Baton Rouge. A WBRZ news crew recorded video of agents with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, sheriff's deputies and Baton Rouge Police going through the home a block off Highland Road. The homeowner said one weapon was removed from the home, and confirmed he was questioned by authorities. The person living there said he was letting someone live at the home for free and that person was gone when the home was raided Monday shortly after 5 p.m. A source close to the investigation said the person who was staying at the home was later arrested. The suspect's name was not immediately available.
The source, who asked not to be identified, said the authorities were working leads on a Government Street pawn shop burglary that happened after Sterling was shot and killed by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, July 5. Eight weapons were stolen, and Thomas, who was apprehended at the scene, told investigators during questions that the guns and ammunition were stolen to be able to shoot and kill police during protests. Six of the guns have been recovered, however police are still working to recover the remaining two.
"We follow up on every single one of them," Edmonson said in regard to a question about threats made against officers. "Here's an actual incident where an individual said that these guns were aimed at killing Baton Rouge Police officers, and when I say police officers, I mean any police officer in the Baton Rouge area."
The raid on the home Monday evening was part of a federal search warrant, WBRZ learned.
What is going on here, folks? Thirteen-year-olds are being drawn into alleged assassination plots against police—this is getting out of control.
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