HAMMOND, La. — A man who was shot and killed by a mother defending her house and children during an apparent home invasion was apparently on the tail end of a crime spree when the deadly break-in occurred.
According to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, Robert Rheams has been identified as the suspect in the armed robbery of the Happywoods Market and Deli in Hammond in the evening on January 7.
Chief Jimmy Travis said a few hours after the armed robbery, Rheams also committed a carjacking and shortly thereafter attempted a home invasion in the early morning hours of January 8.
Travis said that during the attempted home invasion, Rheams was armed with a shovel and a wrench when he forced entry into the home that was occupied by a mother and her young children.
Travis said the mother and Rheams were involved in a physical fight and the homeowner was able to retrieve a firearm and kill him.
Rheams, 51, was out on parole after serving 20 years in prison for armed robbery.
Travis said he believes the mother exercised her Second Amendment rights in protecting herself and her children.
“He entered the residence with a covering over his face, armed with a lug wrench and a shovel,” Travis said.
Travis said Rheams walked past one child sleeping on the couch, then went into the mother’s bedroom. After a scuffle, she grabbed a gun and shot Rheams in the upper thigh.
“Which subsequently hit a femoral artery and he bled out on scene,” Travis said.