Timeline: 'Officer down' repeated in Baton Rouge police shooting recording

By Angela Moon and Ethan Lou (Reuters) - Three police officers were shot to death and three others wounded in Baton Rouge on Sunday, less than two weeks after a black man was killed by police in the Louisiana capital, sparking nationwide protests. The officers appeared to have been caught off guard, according to a recording of police radio that began with calm exchanges and then quickly turned into frantic shouting. In the first 14 minutes of the recording, there were several instances of "officer down" or "deputy down." This is a timeline of how events unfolded. (All in Central time) 8:40 a.m.: A police officer at Airline Highway and Old Hammond Highway in Baton Rouge alerts a police dispatcher that a woman called to report a man with a coat and assault rifle behind a store, according to the police recording. The store is later identified as B-Quick Convenience store, around a mile away from the Baton Rouge Police headquarters. 8:41 a.m.: First instance of "officer down" comes one minute into the recording. "Oh there's shots fired! Officer down!" a male voice shouts. "Shots fired! Officer down! Got a city officer down." Replies, though largely unintelligible due to the quality of the recording, appeared calm. The officer then says: "Don't know where the subject's shooting from!" 8:43 a.m.: Police have yet to locate the shooter. A male officer says: "He is not in sight. Possible sniper." 8:44 a.m.: Police appears to request air support. A female voice says: "Subject's supposed to be at Benny's Car Wash. Still shooting." 8:45 a.m.: Barely a minute later, another officer is injured. "I'm hit, left arm, argh," a male officer says. The response, from a female voice, was just two syllables, "10-four," a phrase commonly used in law enforcement to denote acknowledgement. 8:46 a.m.: A male voice says: "Officer down. I don't know whose radio is this, but officer down." 8:47 a.m.: An officer says something unintelligible, though sirens could be heard in the background. Another officer says: "All units be advised, shots are still being fired." 8:49 a.m.: An officer shouts. He is unintelligible aside from "officer down." Another officer says, "Right here, officer down. "Two down back here," a different officer says. A fourth voice then says some officers are being taken to hospital, "I'll be trailing them, alright?" 8:50 a.m.: "I'm behind the (unintelligible), I've got one down," an officer says. A male voice says, "Transporting an officer." 8:51 a.m.: "We have an officer down," a male voice says, requesting evacuation. 8:52 a.m.: Officers relay witness accounts of the shooter: "He had a mask on," "all black, carrying AR," a reference to the AR-15 assault rifle. 8:53 a.m.: "We've got a deputy down!" 8:54 a.m.: "Deputy down" heard again. 9:06 a.m.: A video on social media from an eyewitness(@Customthoughts_) at a Walmart store in Old Hammond/Airline shows a police chopper circling the area with caption: "They just going in a circle looking for the people who was shooting". 9:56 a.m.: An image on social media from eyewitness (@Customthoughts_) shows police officers behind police cars with caption: "Police hiding behind their cars with their guns". 10:00 a.m.: Baton Rouge Police Corporal L'Jean Mckneely Jr tells media: "We're securing the area with a deceased suspect, a suspect that has been killed. We're making sure there aren't any explosives in the area." Mckneely says police sent a robot inside the B-Quick Convenience Store near the suspect's body to determine if there are any explosives in the store, according to media reports. Around 12 p.m.: East Baton Rouge Sheriff's office describes the scene on Airline Highway as "active" and advised the public to steer clear of the area. The Facebook post also says: "Three law enforcement are confirmed dead, three others injured. One suspect is dead, law enforcement believes two others may be at large. Asking the public if they see anything suspicious please call 911 immediately." (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Editing by Mary Milliken)