Louisiana parishioners confront teen who entered church with a gun during children’s Mass, police say

A Mass celebrating a group of children’s first Communion at a church in southern Louisiana was interrupted Saturday when a 16-year-old boy armed with a gun walked in, the church and police said.

A Mass celebrating dozens of children’s first Communion at a church in southern Louisiana was interrupted Saturday when a 16-year-old boy armed with a gun walked in, the church and police said. No one was injured during the incident in Abbeville at the St. Mary Magdalen Church, during which a “suspicious person” opened the back door of the building while Mass was underway, the church said in a statement. Parishioners immediately confronted the person, took him outside and called the police, the church said in a message to its community. A group of about 60 second-grade students were inside with loved ones, preparing to receive the sacrament of first Communion, the church said in a statement Monday. Authorities, responding to a call about a suspicious person with a gun, arrived at the church and took the teen into custody, according to the Abbeville Police Department. After being questioned at the police station with a parent present, the suspect was taken to a hospital behavioral unit to be medically evaluated, police said. The teen has been charged with “terrorizing” and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile, police said. The teen was “suspiciously dressed and armed” when he entered the church’s vestibule and was stopped by parishioners from entering further after a woman noticed the teen had a handgun on his hip, Rev. Louis J. Richard said in the Monday statement.