Incident Summary:

09/12/2017: An assailant shot and killed Bruce Cofield, 59, on the 3400 block of Florida Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The perpetrator first fired from inside a car, and then exited the vehicle and continued to fire. Kenneth James Gleason, a white extremist, was arrested and charged in connection with this attack and two similar incidents in Baton Rouge in the same week. Police believe the attacks were racially motivated. He pleaded not guilty in December 2017.

Overview

GTD ID:
201709120031

When:
2017-09-12

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Louisiana

City:
Baton Rouge

Location Details:
The incident occurred in the 3400 block of Florida Street.

What

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more)	Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more)	Yes

Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity	Not Applicable
Specific Description	Black Civilian: Bruce Cofield
Nationality of Target	United States

Additional Information
Hostages	No
Property Damage	No

How

Weapon Information
Type	Sub-type
Firearms	Unknown Gun Type

Additional Information
Suicide Attack?	No
Part of Multiple Incident?	No
Criterion 1 (more)	Yes
Criterion 2 (more)	Yes
Criterion 3 (more)	Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more)	No
Additional Information	Gleeson was charged with two similar incidents that occurred on September 11, 2017 and September 14, 2017.

Who

Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name	Claimed Responsibility
White extremists (suspected)	No

Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators	1
Number of Captured Perpetrators	1

Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties	1 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities	1
Number of U.S. Fatalities	1
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities	0
Total Number of Injured	0
Number of U.S. Injured	0
Number of Perpetrators Injured	0

Sources

Sources
"Alleged Baton Rouge serial killer pleads not guilty; one victim's family believes 'justice will be served'," The Advocate (Baton Rouge), December 13, 2017."

"What we know about Kenneth Gleason, Baton Rouge man booked in killings of 2 black men," The Advocate (Baton Rouge), September 19, 2017."
"Neighbor of Baton Rouge man accused of killing 2 black men describes horror of shots fired at house," The Advocate (Baton Rouge), September 19, 2017."