Four teens from New Orleans were caught by police as they were stuffing duffle bags with guns they were stealing from an Old Arabi gun shop according to St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann.
The sheriff says on Monday, Sept. 20, shortly after 10:30 p.m., deputies responded to a call of a business burglary in the 200 block of Aycock Street.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they saw a black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that had rammed into the front entry doors of the St. Bernard Indoor Shooting Center and someone had entered the business according to the sheriff.
While inside of the business, the suspects, two 17-year-old males, a 16-year-old male, and a 14-year-old male were seen taking multiple firearms from the gun store, including pistols and rifles, placing them in large duffle bags.
The Sheriff said the teens then exited the business, and fled to New Orleans in another vehicle, leaving the black pickup truck behind.
According to the sheriff, detectives learned the black pickup and the vehicle the teens fled in, a black 2017 Honda Accord, were both taken by the teens during separate carjackings which happened in New Orleans East shortly before the burglary.
The New Orleans Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office, and the ATF helped in the investigation.
All of the teens have been booked with simple burglary of a business, simple criminal damage to a business, and theft of a firearm. The sheriff's office did not release the identities of the teens because of their age.
Anyone with more information on the burglary can call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501. They also can call the Criminal Investigations Bureau’s tip hotline, (504) 271-TIPS or 8477 or Crimestoppers GNO at (504) 822-1111.
