BATON ROUGE, La. — One of the two Baton Rouge police officers wounded in a shooting Sunday has died.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul confirmed the officers death and said the second officer is in the hospital "fighting for his life."
The suspect in the shooting, 36-year-old Ryan Kato, was taken into custody around 4 p.m. after a standoff with police.
Police received a tip that Kato, a suspect in an earlier homicide, was at a house in the 3100 block of Conrad Drive Paul said. Officers went to the address to contact Kato when he allegedly opened fire on police, shooting them in the front yard with an assault-style rifle.
He then stood over the fatally wounded officer and shot his body multiple times with the rifle, according to a police affidavit obtained by WBRZ.
Both officers were rushed to the hospital as Kato shut himself inside the home, starting a stand off with police that would last hours.
Kato is believed to have shot and killed 58-year-old Curtis Richardson earlier that morning, according to Paul. Police say the shooting was likely domestic violence related.
The police officers have not been identified, Chief Paul said the deceased officer had been with the department for 21 years and the surviving officer is a seven-year veteran.
"Not only were these police officers public servants, they were fathers, husbands, loved by their families," Paul said.
According to reports by WBRZ, Kato has a history of domestic violence and alleged threats of violence against law enforcement.
Records show that in 2017, Kato's girlfriend told authorities he'd threatened to "Gavin Long" the police if she called them. Gavin Long is the man accused of killing three Baton Rouge police officers in 2016.
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