Baton Rouge shooter spent time in Houston before rampage

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As investigators try to understand the motives behind the horrifying attack that took the lives of three Baton Rouge police officers Sunday morning, we're learning more about the shooter's time in Houston.

"It's Cosmo right here, reporting live from Houston in my hotel," Gavin Long said in a YouTube video posted early last week.

From a vacant lot on Cleburn in Third Ward to a gas station in Fifth Ward, Long went on a tour of Houston's black communities to promote his books and message.

We know he gave five copies of his books to a group of friends he ran into while they were working on their motorcycles. The mother of those guys tells Eyewitness News that she gets goosebumps just thinking about the fact that this cop killer was right outside her gate talking to her son.

From political leaders to social media users, many are blaming the Black Lives Matter movement for his rampage.

On Facebook, abc13 viewer Matt says, "The person was influenced to do what he did by those preaching the same thing. He was affiliated with organizations."

Conversely, viewer Linda blames "inflammatory rhetoric from divisive groups such as BLM ... and our pathetic left-leaning media."

Long predicted something like that would happen. He addressed it in another recent video on YouTube.

"No affiliations. I thought my own thoughts. I made my own decisions. I'm the one who gotta listen to the judgment," he said.

"We're almost used to it," says Black Lives Matter activist Jerry Ford Jr. "Even though he said this had nothing to do with BLM, this was just me, Convos with Cosmo, you have people who have these political agendas who are going to blame Black Lives Matter for almost everything. We saw it here with our District Attorney and our Sheriff."

That reference was to the Harris County Sheriff and District Attorney blaming Black Lives Matter for Deputy Darren Goforth's murder last summer while it was still being investigated.

Ford says the group unequivocally condemns any violence toward police, and has from the beginning. Some wonder what kind of affect this latest shooting will have on the progress toward unity that people on all sides have been calling for.