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Opelousas homeowner said teen broke into his home, attempted to steal firearm
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OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) -- Riseman Jenkins said he returned home Wednesday morning to find a teenager wearing a ski mask attempting to steal his firearm.
Jenkins, a veteran who lives on Chickasaw Drive with his son, said that when he returned home, he found his gun and car keys out of place.
"[I] went inside my office to use my computer and I noticed that my M4 weapon and my keys to my car were on a coffee table... They were actually in my room at the time I left home," Jenkins said.
Jenkins said this discovery left him confused. Although his son was at home, his son was recently injured in a car accident and was in his own bedroom recovering.
"So I'm trying to figure out why my M4 and my keys are in my office. I turned around and there was a kid hiding behind my door," he said.
Jenkins said the stranger was wearing a hoodie and a ski mask. Jenkins asked the teen what he was doing inside his home but the teenager started to run away.
"I chased him. I tried to tackle him and hold him. I was calling for my son to call 911," Jenkins said.
Since the incident, Jenkins said he wants to bring awareness to guns. He urges people who have guns at home to store them away where they can not be found. Also, do not have it inside your car.
“These kids are looking for weapons right now, looking for guns. This M4 is a powerful weapon. It's a semi-automatic weapon. I used it in Iraq. The only reason I have it is because it is an issue that I had in the military, and I have it for memorabilia," Jenkins said.
"That weapon was just basically for me, for display. But these kids are after weapons. So if you have a weapon in your car, have weapons in your home, make sure you put them away," he continued.
Jenkins said he is glad no one got hurt but expressed that thing could have played out different.
“If I would have gone to my room first and heard him in my house. Then I would have armed myself and he probably wouldn't be here today. So thank God that didn't happen. I wasn't trying to hurt the kid. I was trying to hold him so I could talk to him but he broke loose," Jenkins said.
The Opelousas Police Department is investigating the matter as an attempted burglary, which is defined as an unauthorized entry into a dwelling with intent to commit a felony or theft.
Anyone with information about the possible suspect is asked to call the Opelousas Police Department.