Mom reportedly kills home intruder who was armed with shovel and lug wrench
01/10/2023 12:53 pm PST
HAMMOND, La. (TCD) -- A woman reportedly shot and killed a home intruder earlier this week after he allegedly broke into her home armed with a shovel and wrench.
On Sunday, Jan. 8, at approximately 5 a.m., deputies from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office went to a home on Klein Road in Hammond for reports of shots fired. Investigators learned 51-year-old Robert Rheams allegedly forced his way into the home where a mother lived with her two children.
Rheams and the woman, who remained unidentified, reportedly got into a physical altercation, which ended with the woman shooting Rheams. The Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office declared him deceased at the scene.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Rheams was reportedly on parole after serving about 20 years in prison for armed robbery. He is also believed to have been involved in a carjacking the same night as the fatal home invasion.
Deputies have not arrested the woman and said the case will be sent to the Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney’s Office for review.
Tangipahoa Parish Chief Jimmy Travis said the shooting "appears to be a homeowner exercising second amendment rights to protect herself and her children from a violent home invasion."
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