President Obama condemned second assault on officers in two weeks
He called the attack on Baton Rouge officers 'cowardly and reprehensible'
Obama said he's offered his full support to Baton Rouge police department
Three officers were confirmed dead after a shooting at a gas station at 9am
President Obama condemned the 'cowardly and reprehensible' attack on police officers in Baton Rouge - and promised: 'Justice will be done.'
Three officers were confirmed dead and a further three were injured after a shooting at a gas station along Airline Highway in the Louisiana city on Sunday morning.
One suspect is dead and law enforcement officials believe a further two may still be at large, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said. The races of the victims and suspect were not immediately known.
President Obama was briefed on the situation and offered any assistance needed to Baton Rouge, the White House said on Sunday morning.
And in a statement, Obama blasted the assault on officers 'who put their lives on the line for ours every day' and branded the perpetrators 'cowards who speak for no one.'
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Obama said the motive for Sunday's attack, the second targeting police in less than two weeks, was unknown, but there is no justification for violence against law enforcement.
'These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one,' Obama said in a statement released by the White House. 'They right no wrongs. They advance no causes.'
He added: 'I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge,' he said.
'For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault.
'These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop.'
Obama added that he has offered his full support, as well as the full support of the federal government, to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Mayor Kip Holden, the Sheriff's Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department.
'And make no mistake – justice will be done,' he added.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch pledged the full support of the Justice Department as the investigation unfolds.
She said agents from the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are on the scene.
The Justice Department will make available victim services and federal funding support, and provide investigative assistance to the fullest extent possible, she said.
Lynch added that there is no place in the United States for such appalling violence.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Lynch said she condemns the shooting 'in the strongest possible terms.'
She added that everyone's hearts and prayers are with the fallen and wounded officers, their families and the entire Baton Rouge community in 'this extraordinarily difficult time.'
Obama spent most of the last week focused on defusing tensions and rebuilding trust between police departments and the communities they serve.
Now, a second attack has further placed a nation on edge as Americans anxiously watch the spate of violence at home and abroad with Thursday's attack in Nice, France, contributing to a picture of a troubled world.
'The officers in Baton Rouge, the officers in Dallas, they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now — all of us — to be at our best,' Obama said.
And the president's statement came as Donald Trump quickly jumped on the opportunity to blame Obama for the ambush - while simultaneously paying tribute to three police officers in Baton Rouge
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, took to Facebook to pay tribute to the fallen officers, but couldn't resist taking a swipe at Obama, despite details of the attack still being unclear.
'We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today,' the billionaire businessman said, adding: 'How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order.'
On Twitter, the 70-year-old added: 'We are TRYING to fight ISIS, and now our own people are killing our police.
'Our country is divided and out of control. The world is watching.'
Trump was also quick to blast Obama in the wake of the terror attack on Nice, France, on Thursday evening.
He also reiterated his call for the United States to tighten its borders and brought up his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country as a solution in interviews hours after the attacks.
The Baton Rouge attack, which happened just before 9am, less than a mile from police headquarters, comes amid spiraling tensions across the country between the black community and police.
Baton Rouge has seen constant protests since the shooting of a black man outside a convenience store on July 5.
Alton Sterling, 37, was killed in a scuffle with two white police officers – sparking Black Lives Matter protests across the country.
His killing was captured in a cellphone video and circulated widely online.
The shooting of Philando Castile, 32, by a Minnesota police officer in Falcon Heights during a traffic stop a day later, exacerbated tensions further.
The aftermath of the shooting was streamed live on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend.
On July 7, a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas turned deadly when a sniper opened fire and killed five police officers, heightening tensions even further.
Micah Johnson told authorities he wanted to kill whites – especially 'white police officers' - before he was killed with a remote-controlled robot by police.
The massacre left law enforcement across the country on alert, with heads of police departments across the country ordering police officers to patrol in pairs.
And in the wake of a second co-ordinated ambush on Sunday, people turned to Twitter to condemn the violence once again.
Reverend Al Sharpton added: 'Praying for the families of the police officers shot in Baton Rouge as we await the full details This senseless violence really must stop.'
'Our thoughts and prayers are with Baton Rouge Police,' Dallas police chief David Brown, whose department is still mourning five dead police officers who were targeted in an ambush during a protest 10 days ago, tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards called the attack 'unspeakable and unjustified.'
'This is an unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us at a time when we need unity and healing,' he said in a statement.
'Rest assured, every resource available to the State of Louisiana will be used to ensure the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice.
'For now, I'm asking all Louisianans to join Donna and me in praying for the officers who were involved and their families as the details continue to unfold.'
On Monday, Obama spoke at the memorial service for the five slain Dallas officers killed and told Americans not to despair, that the nation is not as divided as it might seem.
The next day, he held an extraordinary four-hour meeting at the White House's executive offices with police officers, community activists and elected leaders.
He emergined from the session saying 'we're not even close' to the point where minority communities could feel confident that police departments were serving them with respect and equality or where police departments could feel adequately supported at all levels.
