NEW ORLEANS — A man is dead after allegedly breaking into a Hammond home while armed, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say 51-year-old Robert Rheams of Hammond forced his way into a home on Klein Road around 5 a.m. on Sunday with a shovel and a lug wrench.
The homeowner and her two children were home at the time of the break-in.
Rheams and the homeowner got into a physical altercation after he entered the home, and it ended with the homeowner shooting Rheams.
Rheams was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner's Office.
Detectives say they have connected Rheams to a carjacking that happened a few hours before the home invasion.
Chief Travis said, "at of this time, no arrests were made in this investigation." He also said, "this case appears to be a homeowner exercising Second Amendment rights to protect herself and her children from a violent home invasion."
Rheams was out on parole after serving nearly 20 years for an armed robbery.