Wife of slain Baton Rouge officer announces pregnancy

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The wife of an officer killed in a lone gunman's ambush in Baton Rouge in July has announced that she's pregnant.

Dechia Gerald tells WAFB-TV (http://bit.ly/2cv3x4G ) that she believes she conceived just five days before her husband, 41-year-old Officer Matthew Gerald, died in the line of duty.

Gerald, Officer Montrell Jackson and sheriff's deputy Brad Garafola were slain during a July 17 shootout outside a convenience store by 29-year-old Gavin Long before a SWAT officer gunned down Long.

Authorities said Long, an Army veteran, came from Kansas City, Missouri, to target police officers.

The baby will be the third child for Dechia Gerald and her late husband. She is due April 7.

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Information from: WAFB-TV, http://wafb.com