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Kirk Franklin apologizes to fans for online outburst

In a spur of emotions over the Baton Rouge shooting incident, American gospel musician Kirk Franklin vented his frustration on social media.

Kirk Franklin apologizes to fans after outburst on Baton Rouge shoot-out. | Reuters/Danny Moloshok

On the microblogging site Twitter, Franklin wrote, "I need for my community to be as loud as possible about how killing men and women in uniform is a crime, a sin, and an act of terrorism."

On another social media platform, Instagram, Franklin had an angrier outburst while expressing his views on the Baton Rouge shoot-out.  

After realizing that his comments on the bloody incident were defensive, the award-winning gospel singer apologized to fans via Twitter, saying, "I want to apologize. I feel that my tone explaining my view was defensive." He added, "I understand. People are hurting and I need to be more sensitive to that. They kill us, we kill them, we ALL lose..."

After his apology, Franklin's last tweet  on that day says: "I don't want to be liked, I want to be right. #lovewins #humility "

According to CNN, a Missouri man shot police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana earlier this month, leaving three dead. Gavin Long, an African-American of Kansas City, celebrated his 29th birthday on a shooting rampage, which killed three police officers and a sheriff deputy. Long was a member of the U.S. military from 2005 until 2010.  A former marine, he worked as a data network specialist. During his stint with the military, according International Business Times, Long earned several awards, including Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, among many others.

Franklin, 46, is a gospel singer, choir director, and author. He has won multiple awards, including several Grammys. His latest Grammy win is for his song "Wanna be happy?" which was hailed as this year's best Gospel Performance/Song by the award-giving body.