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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. and welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. we continue covering the breaking news this hour here on cnn. in the state of louisiana police there trying to figure out the motive of a man who ambushed and killed three police officers in baton rouge sunday morning. >> three other officers were wounded. one is in grave condition. we're told police received a call of a man carrying a rifle

dressed all in black walking along a busy road, a highway, when officers arrived the shooting began. listen. >> you hear and see it there. that video from the scene. the gunman died minutes later in that shootout with police. keep in mind the situation in baton rouge was already tense after the police shooting of alton sterling that happened july 5th. and just last week louisiana state police announced they had received threats against officers in the city of baton rouge. >> the officers killed have been identified as matthew gerald, montrell jackson, and brad garafola. u.s. president obama condemned the attack as cowardly and called for unity in america. >> it is so important that everyone, regardless of race or political party or profession, regardless of what organizations you are a part of, everyone

right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further. >> well, the gunman had been very active online and talked openly about the need to fight back. >> it's a very confusing picture of who he was. our senior investigative correspondent drew griffin has more on the shooter. >> reporter: police are calling this an ambush that took place here in baton rouge on this terrible morning in which three officers were killed, three others injured. the shooter dead. and as they look into his social media presence, they're painting a picture of a confused young man, a former marine. he's 29 years old, african-american, out of kansas city, missouri, which means he would have had to have driven about 800 miles just to get here. police believe based on where he was this morning that he had been here, he knew the train, and he had actually staked out where he would strike and kill these police officers.

on social media, youtube postings he talked openly about the need to do more than just protest, that killings of blacks by police officers -- he basically gave a call to action. and he even gave instructions as to what people should think of him should anything happen if he would not be around. police continue to investigate this terrible shooting while they're also trying to deal with alton sterling, the killing that took place in baton rouge that sparked massive protests in this city. all of this going on while the republican national convention gets under way in this country and people are just trying to get through what has been a very deadly summer. drew griffin, cnn, baton rouge. back to you. >> again, three officers killed. one of them had posted on facebook about how tired he was both physically and emotionally. that's montrell jackson, we're talking about. the african-american who was killed. he talked about trying times in his post from july 8th one day

after the dallas police ambush and three days after alton sterling's death. >> let's take a moment here. i want you to listen to what some of jackson wrote. "i swear to god i love this city but i wonder if this city loves me. in uniform i get nasty hateful looks. and out of uniform some consider me a threat. i've experienced so much in my short life, and these last three days have tested me to the core." keep in mind he is a new father -- or was a new father. your heart goes out to him. >> gut-wrenching words there for sure. earlier anderson cooper spoke with one of jackson's friends. >> yeah, i think the facebook quote that has come out since his untimely passing says a lot. in his facebook quote he's saying, hey, if anybody, protesters, cops, anybody passing by needs a hug and a prayer, come talk to me. i think that said it. i've seen him interact with the community a lot. and every time, i mean, he is just a cop's cop. strong guy, firm, but fair.

loving, family man. and you know, the scene at the hospital today with his wife and young child is just -- it's something that i wish the nation could see. i mean, it's very tragic when you see the people that love him. he was a loved man. >> you were in the emergency room. you were there at the hospital with family members of these officers. i mean, i can't imagine what that is like. >> yeah. it's hard to describe. i don't have the words in my vocabulary. i've had tragedy in my family. i've had a close family member murdered in this city. and it's -- you know, that phone call that just, you know, makes the hairs climb up your back is unspeakable. it's horrible. at the same time i think our city is bent. i just don't think it's broken, anderson. i really don't. i think we'll come out of this. >> cnn also spoke with jackson's uncle, who says montrell was dedicated to helping other people and making baton rouge a better city.

>> well, the friend of another officer killed in baton rouge, he's also paying tribute. he calls officer matthew gerald, one of the three men killed in baton rouge on sunday, calls him a wonderful guy. >> nick lambert spoke with cnn about the time he spent with gerald in the u.s. army. when asked how he wanted people to remember gerald, lambert said, "his size. he was a small guy with a huge mentality. he was one of the true americans that lived to be a patriot. he was honored to have done the things he did." >> baton rouge is already a very tense place, trying to come together after another high-profile shooting. the police-involved shooting of an african-american man, alton sterling, on july 5th. >> sterling's aunt pleaded for peace, though. very, very upset about violence following violence. here she is. >> we don't call for no bloodshed! that's how this all started. with bloodshed. we don't want no more bloodshed.

if you're not -- leave, go home, referee wherever you come from. this is our house. you can't come in our house killing us. that's what you're doing because at the end of the day when these people call these families, they tell them that their daddies and their mama's not coming home no more. i know how they feel. because i got the same phone call. no justice! no justice, no peace. that's what we're calling for. stop this killing. stop this killing. stop this killing! >> that's the second time we've heard that particular sound bite from her played. it's not easy to hear. >> so nice to see the family's pulling together and saying they're sick of it. they're right in the middle of grieving and this happens. cnn's erin burnett spoke with the governor of louisiana about the shootings. >> he called them unjustifiable, and he called them senseless. >> it was a senseless act of

violence. it is unspeakable. as i said earlier, it's unjustifiable. it's unjustified. it just doesn't make any sense. it doesn't further any dialogue that is constructive in our nation today on any issue. and it just needs to stop. and for anybody who thinks that they were doing something that would honor the life of mr. sterling here in baton rouge, or i should say the death perhaps, the family of mr. sterling spoke out powerfully and eloquently about the need not to resort to violence. so that certainly -- it's an interesting fact, i suspect, but at the end of the day the race of the shooter and of the officers is really immaterial. this is a terrible act of violence, and it should never happen in our country. >> keeping in mind racial tension in the united states has increased dramatically, this month alone, july 5th, the shooting of alton sterling outside a convenience store,

that sparked a number of protests across the country. >> then of course a day later african-american philando castile was shot and killed by law enforcement during a traffic stop in minnesota. his fiance video-streamed the encounter, which went viral. and a debate over law enforcement's use of excessive force was once again thrust into the spotlight. and on july 7th micah xavier johnson gunned down five police officers in dallas, possibly in response to the previous shootings of african-americans by police officers. >> the shooting in baton rouge has shocked the nation for sure, but many people see this as part of a larger division within the country. cheryl dorsey is a retired police sergeant at the los angeles police department and now joins us live from los angeles at 10:10 there in l.a. cheryl, it's good to have you with us. let's talk about this, but first let's set up the context. we don't know the motive behind this shooting. police have not indicated anything one way or the other. we're still waiting to hear from them. but there is a larger sentiment and a greater concern about

threats against police officers in baton rouge. in the state of louisiana they were concerned about threats against police officers. what can you tell us about how officers are dealing with that? >> well, these are very difficult times, george. and certainly there's tremendous pain and grief on both sides. and you know, this is not an either/or situation. this is an and conversation that we should be having. and unless and until police chiefs are honest about the things that are affecting our young people that are causing them to feel so helpless and hopeless in their situations that they get to a point where they're fed up and they act out in a way that is unconscionable, understand, i don't condone violence against police officers and i do not condone violence by police officers. but to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend like there is not a causal effect is disingenuous. we need to have an honest dialogue about how to bridge that gap between minority

communities and police officers so there's no more loss of life on either side. >> cheryl, i'm sure our viewers around the world can appreciate you getting into the things that are leading up to this, but i do want to just ask you, though, as a retired law enforcement official and for other law enforcement officials, people who go to work each day, they go out to protect and serve, they want to come home to their families, how are they dealing with this concern that persists? >> well, you know, they're going to go out and they're going to do their job as they always have. they're going to be professional. but they're going to be mindful because understand, we recognize that complacency kills. and you know, the days of routine traffic stops, routine radio calls are no more. and so police officers are now going to have to be mindful on every call, whether it's a high priority or a routine disturbance call, that this could be a setup, that someone could want to hurt you for reasons that have absolutely

nothing to do with you. so that's when we rely on our training and that's when we do that thing that we practiced and learned so that we do play like we practiced, keep ourselves safe, and make it home to our family at the end of our shift. >> cheryl, there's that old saying that there are always some bad apples in the bunch but you can't, you know, throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. there are a lot of good police officers out there who do their job day in and day out. so a question to you. does it make officers second-guess themselves at times? >> well, i hope that officers don't second-guess themselves because in that moment that's when things can go awry and that's when we can get hurt. and so listen, 99% of the officers who come on the job do it for the right reason. they do a tremendous job day in and day out. so i don't want to broad blanket the profession to say that all officers are acting inappropriately any more than i want to broad blanket a group in the community to say that they

are somehow anti-police. so we have to be honest about our differences, have a real dialogue about our angst, and when we find officers who are errant and who are violating policy and/or law that results in deadly force the police departments need to deal with those officers. families, victims of those police officers want accountability. they want there to be a consequence for the choice that the officer made. and until that happens i think we're going to see a lot of angst based on people who are not able to really resolve those issues in their own head. >> cheryl, good to delve into the nuance in this with you. cheryl dorsey, live for us in los angeles. cheryl, thank you for your time. >> we'll have more on that story in a moment here. but coming up, we're going to turn to some other news we're following. funerals have begun in turkey for people, hundreds killed in a failed coup attempt there. >> how ankara is cracking down on the alleged protesters. as "cnn newsroom" continues. ♪

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friday's failed coup in that country. he says pro-government protesters who took over the streets foiled the takeover. at least 290 people were killed, though, when anti-government forces tried to seize power. >> here's the thing, though. the government is cracking down hard on anyone suspected in this attempted coup. officials say around 6,000 people so far have been detained. cnn's ben wedeman has more. >> reporter: as the crackdown against coup plotters continues in turkey, an ominous sound. crowds chant "we want the death penalty" at the funeral of a civil servant killed in friday's clashes. and by the president a reply. >> translator: my dear brothers, i expressed this yesterday as well. in democracies people's requests cannot be ignored. this is your right. your right will be evaluated by the appropriate institutions within a constitutional framework, and a decision will be made. >> two days after an attempted

coup to oust turkey's president erdogan, the government has detained some 6,000 people, including senior aides and senior members of the military. the turkish government has demanded that fethullah gulen, a muslim cler nick self-imposed exile in the u.s. can accused of plotting the coup, be extradited to turkey. claims he denies. u.s. secretary of state john kerry responded today to extradition demands. >> we've never had a formal request for extradition, and we have always said give us the evidence, show us the evidence, we need a solid legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request. >> reporter: a key ally in the region and in the fight against isis, turkey's stability is critical to the united states. but with president erdogan asking his supporters to stay out on the streets, scenes like this across turkey may become

even more common. ben wedeman, cnn, istanbul. >> cnn is live in turkey this hour. our international correspondent ian lee on the story in istanbul. good to have you with us. an investigation is under way. as ben pointed out, many people behind this failed coup, they are detained. and now the president there considering bringing back the death penalty. there are a lot of moving parts to this thing. >> that's right. and we've seen pictures of some of these people who've been detained, and there are a lot of them. one picture has them in a stable only in their underwear. so you know, there is a lot of people that they've been rounding up. as ben pointed out, there are senior aides, senior people in the military and others that have been rounded up. at least 6,000 in total. and here in istanbul it seems like we're not out of the woods yet. at least that's according to the

government. they're still calling for the people to take to the streets every night. last night we heard them and saw them. tonight we're expecting the same. they want to keep up this pressure to show the people who are leading the coup if there's anyone still remain whog hasn't been picked up, that the people are still with the president. >> ian lee live for us in istanbul following the story. ian, thank you so much for your reporting this day. >> the coup there -- the coup attempt in turkey is affecting its ties with the united states. during the failed takeover, turkey closed the airspace at a base the u.s. uses to target isis. ankara has also demanded the u.s. extradite a cleric it blames for the coup. the u.s. secretary of state spoke earlier on the coup with our jake tapper. here it is. >> i talked three times yesterday with the foreign minister of turkey. they assure me that there will be no interruption of our

counterisil efforts. it is a fact there were some difficulties at incirlik, but apparently there may have been some refueling that took place with the turkish air force with planes that were flying in the coup itself. and i think that has something to do with what's taking place there. it's not focused on us. they have absolutely assured us of their commitment to the fight against daesh. their foreign minister will be coming to washington with their defense minister in three days for a major conference that we have with 45 countries. foreign ministers, defense ministers, to keep pushing forward on the strategy against daesh. so jake, i expect that you know, operations will get back to normal very quickly. but we don't know the details of the coup. and i think the turkish government itself is trying to figure out the full measure of who was involved and how. >> has this affected the fight against isis or, as you call it, daesh? >> no.

it has not. according to our commanders, it may have been a minor delay here or there, but it has not affected the fundamental direction or commitment to the fight. >> as you know, on saturday the president of turkey, erdogan, demanded that the u.s. arrest or hand over one of his enemies, fethullah gulen, the person he is holding responsible for this coup, who's living in self-imposed exile in the poconos in pennsylvania. is the u.s. going to comply with this demand for extradition? >> well, first of all, we have not had a formal request for extradition. that has to come in a formal package. it has to come with documentation for the request and go to the justice department. and we will deal with it. i made it very, very clear to the foreign minister of turkey yesterday, the united states is not harboring anybody, we're not preventing anything from happening, we've never had a

formal request for extradition, and we have always said give us the evidence, show us the evidence, we need a solid legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request. so we're waiting for that. they tell us they are putting it together and will send it to us. but we think it's irresponsible to have accusations of american involvement when we're simply waiting for their request which we're absolutely prepared to act on if it meets the legal standard. >> secretary of state speaking with cnn's jake tapper there. >> let's talk now about the situation in baton rouge. it joins a growing list of deadly incidents involving police in the united states. and we will discuss the impact that these killings are having going forward, next. also, two more people have been detained in connection with the terror attack in nice, france. we'll have the latest on the investigation coming up here. live in the united states and around the world this hour, you're watching "cnn newsroom." pipes are. e so i use quickbooks and run my entire business from the cloud.

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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we continue following the breaking news here on cnn. i'm george howell. >> and i'm natalie allen. the u.s. is reckoning with yet another deadly shooting. a gunman in baton rouge, louisiana killed three police officers and wounded three more early sunday. investigators are still trying to unravel what his motives were. >> they found that 29-year-old missouri man, gavin long, subscribed to several conspiracy groups online. long identified himself as a black separatist as well as a host of other things, from freedom strategist to spiritual adviser. the baton rouge sheriff says we

must bridge the divisions in our country in order to survive. >> until we come together as a nation, as a people, to heal as a people, if we don't do that and this madness continues, we will surely perish as a people. >> poignant records there. the shootings have left a city and the country of course as he said deeply shaken. >> cnn's nick valencia has more on the timeline, a breakdown of what happened there in baton rouge. >> reporter: 8:40 a.m., a quiet sunday morning in baton rouge, when officers spot a man dressed in black holding a rifle near a convenience store. 8:42, reports received of shots fired. >> we have an officer down.

we need the bear cat now for an eph ack. >> responding officers locked in a gun battle. >> he had a mask on. >> reporter: 8:48, with medics on the scene trying to get to the fallen officers. >> officers engaged the subject at that particular time, and he ultimately died at the scene. >> reporter: the ambush-style attack leaves three officers dead, three others wounded. the shooter, later identified as 29-year-old gavin long. the crime scene remained active for several hours after the shooting. police uncertain whether more shooters might be on the run. many in the immediate area sheltering behind closed doors. >> we're on lockdown at the moment. everyone is in the back, just -- we cannot leave. and even if we could leave, the police are blocking down the streets. everyone has to stay where we are. >> reporter: baton rouge is already a city on edge. the shooting comes less than two weeks after a black man was shot dead by a white police officer.

after consoling the families of the victims, louisiana governor john bel edwards addresses what he called the unspeakable tragedy. >> it's unjustified. it's unjustifiable. the violence, the hatred just has to stop. >> reporter: nick valencia, cnn, baton rouge, louisiana. >> cnn law enforcement contributor steve moore joins me now from los angeles. he's a retired fbi supervisory special agent. steve, you and i always talk when there's something like this, so that's unfortunate. but let's just look at what we know. we just heard the timeline from nick there. this gunman was able to shoot those six police officers before police shot and killed him. it seems they may have been ambushed, it might have been a setup with the 911 call. that's not confirmed. but what do you make of what you're hearing? >> well, if you take the totality of the circumstances, yeah, it's all but certainly an ambush. the guy is an avowed black

separatist. he's belonged to organizations that espouse violence. he calls whites crackers on his facebook page. and he shows up from missouri in the place where the first of these police shootings were. and he guns down some police officers. if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, this is domestic terrorism. >> but he shot a black police officer. >> yeah. yeah, maybe he wasn't that good a shot. or maybe he just didn't realize that he was shooting -- when you're 100 yards away from somebody or 50 yards away, sometimes it's hard to tell who it is. i think the fact he shot a black officer does not for one second change my mind about what his possible motives were.

>> i understand. because in a shooting, i've never been in one thank goodness, there's all kinds of duress and emotions going on. >> in a shooting the last thing you see is the person's skin color. >> exactly. thank you. and speaking of the african-american officer, montrell jackson, we note that he did some postings on facebook before he died, of course. and i just want to read you a little bit of what he wrote because it really speaks to what police officers are dealing with in this country. he wrote, "i swear to god, i love this city but i wonder if this city loves me. in uniform i get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat. i've experienced so much in my short life. these last three days have tested me to the core." and certainly he speaks for other officers that are going out on their shifts and not knowing what they're walking into. >> yes. i've heard this. i've got relatives who are police officers. i can't imagine what it's like. and you know, quite frankly as a black man i'm sure that he got

his share of -- got his share of prejudice or of wrongful treatment out of uniform. so he's seen it from both -- or he saw it from both sides. and i -- my heart breaks for him. >> right now how should police departments be responding to this tension and the violence that we're continuing to see? we know that in new york city they're having police officers double up on their patrols. we heard the governor of louisiana talk about officers being wary. how should police departments help their officers cope these days? >> by taking actions like that. by -- there are fundamentals of officer safety. that's not going to protect you from sniper attacks or anything like that. but the officers are now going to have to take calls like man with a gun, man with a rifle, in a totally different -- totally different manner.

and it's just essentially the fact that there is potential war on our own streets. some deranged individuals want to make our streets in america beirut. so these officers are going to have to learn new tactics. but above all, they're going -- they can't lose their base values, their basic human values because the way you win this is not to cave in to this kind of terrorism. >> well, we feel for all the officers right now having to deal with this. and on the other side the people -- the black community is wary and tense as well. these are really troubling times right now. thanks so much, steve moore for us. >> thank you. >> just to add to steve's insight there, you know, he pointed out that we are hearing that he was part of this black sovereign group. we're also hearing from law enforcement that gavin long followed several conspiracy groups devoted to government surveillance and monitoring and he also described himself as a freedom strategist, a mental

game coach, a nutritionist, author, and spiritual adviser. so that suggests as cedric alexander pointed out earlier perhaps a mental illness. the situation, though, is until we hear from police about motive we simply don't know. switching now over to politics, the presumptive republican and democratic presidential nominees are responding to the baton rouge shootings. >> their statements came as donald trump made the tv rounds with his new running mate. more now from cnn politics reporter sara murray. >> reporter: donald trump and hillary clinton sharply condemn the killing of police officers in baton rouge today. as another horrific shooting scrambles the political landscape. clinton released a statement saying "there is no justification for violence, for hate, for attacks on men and women who put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and communities." and trump took to social media saying "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." the latest incident comes as trump steps out with his new running mate, indiana governor mike pence. and argues they are the ticket most prepared to take on security threats. >> as trump reiterated his call to declare war on isis. >> we have to wipe out isis. these are people -- >> with troops on the ground? >> i am going to have very few troops on the ground. >> reporter: trump touted his decision to team up with pence as a step toward party unity. >> one of the big reasons that i chose mike, so many people have said party unity. because i'm an outsider. >> reporter: even as divisions on policy and on presentation emerge within the ticket. while pence decries negative campaigning, his running mate has a habit of branding his opponents with insulting nicknames, something trump says he won't pressure pence to take part in. >> i call her crooked hillary. she's crooked hillary. he won't -- i didn't ask him to do it. but i don't think he should do

it because it's different for him. >> reporter: ultimately, rnc chair reince priebus says those splits will elevate the ticket, not divide it. >> a difference in demeanor is something that will be very valuable. >> that's for sure. >> you know what, but people want strength. people love that about donald trump. but it's also good and reassuring to see a diversity in style. >> reporter: a long-time pence ally, indiana gop chairman jeff cardwell echoing that sentiment in an interview with cnn and insisting pence isn't harboring hard feelings over reports that trump had second thoughts about his vp pick. >> this is the most important decision i think that any presidential nominee makes. and he wanted to take time, he wanted to be sure about that selection. and in the end he felt very comfortable with mike pence. he chose mike pence. and they're going to be a great president and vice president. >> and we're going to follow up with this. trump also tweeted, "president obama just had a news conference but he doesn't have a clue. our country is a divided crime scene, and it will only get

worse." >> donald trump and mike pence will be the stars of the show here. the republican national convention, it is just hours away. though protests have already started. how city officials plan to draw the line between free speech and public disorder. >> that's coming up here. also, a couple has been taken into custody in connection with the bastille day massacre in france. we'll update you on the investigation right after this break. beyond has a natural grain free pet food committed to truth on the label. when we say real meat is the first ingredient, it is number one. and we leave out corn, wheat and soy. for your pet, we go beyond.

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religious support. >> cnn is live in nice, france this hour. our correspondent max foster on the ground following this story. max, good to have you with us. that city certainly and the nation observing three days, the third day of mourning for those killed in the deadly attack. if you could just set the scene for us there where you are. >> yeah, well, i went out to the support center and actually spoke to the minister for victims, who has a very senior role now in french government. says it all, doesn't it, that we've had multiple attacks and they have a permanent now victim minister in the cabinet. and she was talking largely about the children. we had -- there were 40 children caught up in the events on thursday night. 12 have died. five are still in intensive care. and all the surviving children have lost a family member, most of them having lost a parent. so that just says it all really. when you look at these memorials that have really developed all

the way along the path of this massacre, you see all these cuddly toys and you see lots of children's drawings, and it's really striking the way children are really remembered most. partly because that's what marked this attack out in a way. the previous attacks targeted adults. and this one targeted children. we know that there's a candy stall down there. and the driver -- i've spock-tone three witnessspockeno three witnesses who saw the truck drive into the queue, the candy store, trying to attack them. but this is the most poignant thing you can really see right now. what you see is collections of flowers and candles and stones with messages on, and each one marks a position where one of the bodies lay after the attack. if we look down the road, that's

a visualization of how horrendous this event was. the truck thundering in our direction, wiping people out as they came along. and not to be too gruesome about it, but the way people have been able to locate where the bodies lay was because of the blood stains. thankfully now covered up by these flowers, these tributes. this is really how people are remembering things. a bit later on -- it's very early in the morning. but later on you'll see people just standing around these and looking. >> max, just looking at that, just really gives me chills. i mean, how far down the street does that go? >> reporter: i don't know if we can point the camera in that direction because of the sun. but effectively it goes right down to the end of the trees. >> goodness. >> reporter: and then down there. i mean, this was a two-kilometer-long massacre.

the car, the truck drove for two kilometers along here. and this was completely packed. it was thick with people. and the truck was zig-zaging. and we now know that was because he was aiming at the most concentrated parts of the crowd. this road was meant to open up. but clearly the authorities have got this -- it would be very insensitive to get rid of these memorials at this time. and they're going all the time as well. >> max, thank you so much for showing all of us that, and thank you for the report. >> well, we certainly know that this man was was a sick person in the fact that he plowed into a line of children waiting at a candy store. unintelligent and easily influenced, though, is how mohamed bouhlel's lawyer describes the man who carried out this attack. >> reporter: mohamed bouhlel was a delivery driver with a wife, three children, and a volatile personality. in march he threw a wooden

pallet at another driver in a fit of road rage. corn tin delobel was his lawyer in that case and got him a six-month suspended prison sentence. "i told myself i did my job," he says. "but if i had done my job badly he might be in prison and maybe he never would have done what he did." he struggles with a sense of guilt and shock. delobel says his weightlifting, heavy drinking client was not an extremist but he did have a record of domestic violence. accused of beating and humiliating his now estranged wife. "he was very much the stereotype of a petty criminal," he says. "there was nothing that would suggest in reality he was a jihadist." he says the attacker didn't really stand out in a crowd and wouldn't have raised any suspicion when prosecutors say he came here to the promenade des anglais not once but twice in the days leading up to the attack. his brother says he even sent a photo that night of himself looking happy in the crowd.

prosecutors also say bouhlel sent a text message to someone just before the attack telling them to bring more weapons. police are questioning several people. a source tells cnn those who knew buouhlel say he began speaking in support of isis. the terror group has called him one of its soldiers. "he wasn't very intelligent," he says. "i imagine he could have been easily influenced by religion." bouhlel was never overtly religious, never on a watch list. france's interior minister says he likely radicalized very rapidly, committing one of the worst terror attacks in recent history. and nobody, not even his lawyer, saw it coming. will ripley, cnn, nice, france. >> we'll have more on that story coming up here, of course. but street protests are well under way in cleveland, ohio hours before the republican convention kicks off there. we'll tell you coming up here how the city plans to keep them from getting out of hand.

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the republican national convention just hours from now. republicans converge on

cleveland where they are set to nominate donald trump for president. >> large protesters are expected outside the arena. martin savidge explains how they plan to control without trampling on people's right to be heard. >> establishing a a protest zone in cleveland hasn't been easy. because you run up against two very different ideas. security versus freedom of speech. but eventually there's compromi compromise. where at least it all starts. it's got access to public transportation and a wide open area, but from here you don't see the cue unless you're up at altitude like we are thousand. across the valley, over the river. which is why demonstrators will be allowed a mile toward downtown over a predetermined route that took months of negotiation. that is one of the guardians of transportation.

it's a a unique architectural feature of this beautiful bridge. and the protesters will come right over this. they get a great view of the cue. but they can't get near it. from a security point of view, it works out. if there's going to be trouble, it's on the other side. there's no law specifically stating how close demonstrators must be able to approach. court rulings have said it should be close enough for them to be seen and heard. this is the closest that the demonstrators will be able to get at the arena. we're right at the end of the bridge we just crossed over. from here they are suppose d to turn and veer off in the opposite direction. something they are potentially not likely to do because they want to be seen and heard. this is also where the police presence is likely to be very heavy. and that's why there's a good chance if there's conflict, it's going to happen here because demonstrators will be pushing in and law enforcement will be pushing back.

the police say as long as everyone remains peaceful there won't be a problem. but if that changes, they also say they will be ready. martin savidge, cnn, cleveland. >> and be sure to tune into cnn's special coverage of the rnc. christiane amanpour, kate baldw baldwin. i'm natalie alan. >> and i'm george howell. our breaking news coverage continues here on cnn. right after a break. ♪ music

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welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we're live in atlanta. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. we continue following the breaking news this hour in the state of louisiana. a gunman from missouri ambushed and killed three police officers in baton rouge wounding three early sunday. >> and one of those officers is in grave condition. police received a call of a man carrying a rifle dressed all in black walking along a busy road. when officer ace arrived, the shooting