BATON ROUGE, La. — Calling it a “substantial, credible threat” to police, authorities in Louisiana have arrested three suspects accused of stealing at least eight handguns in an alleged plot to harm police officers in the Baton Rouge area.
The arrests in Louisiana’s capital city come amid heightened tensions following the deadly police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota and the killings of five police officers in Dallas last week.
Authorities discovered the alleged plot while responding to a weekend burglary at a pawn shop, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said at a news conference Tuesday.
The chief said the first suspect arrested told police that “the reason the burglary was being done was to harm police officers.” He said the suspect didn’t give any details about when or where a possible plot would be carried out.
State Police Col. Mike Edmonson called it a “substantial credible threat” to police.
