Abbeville teen went into church to allegedly scare parishioners, get his girlfriend,then head to Texas

Abbeville Police Mike Hardy stated that the 16-year-old who was apprehended for bringing a gun into St. Mary Magdalen Church during a Holy Communion Mass did not have any intentions of harming anyone.
Hardy was quoted in the Advocate newspaper saying the teen told police that his girlfriend was inside the church. He planned to intimidate parishioners before he ran away with his girlfriend to Texas, reported the Advocate.
The teen was not allowed to carry out his plan, thanks to a handful of parishioners who were outside of the church and saw the teen enter the church.
The incident occurred Saturday morning during Mass. A parishioner, who was outside on the church grounds, allegedly saw the teen place a rifle against the outside wall of the church and then open the door of the church and possibly enter.
Another person outside of the church also saw the rifle and went to grab it and left with it before the teen could return for it. The teen came back outside, his gun was gone, and another parishioner grabbed him.
The police were called and, within minutes,  were at the church, along with the Vermilion Parish SWAT Team.
The Abbeville Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office swept the inside and outside of the church and determined there was no additional threat to the church.
The city police escorted the 16-year-old to the Abbeville Police Department and questioned with a parent present.  He was booked with terrorizing and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile and also was transported to the Abbeville Hospital Behavioral Health Unit for a medical evaluation.
The Diocese of Lafayette released a statement over the weekend.
“We are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided at the First Communion mass for the children of St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville. The quick response of the Abbeville Police Department and alert to the parishioners is a great example of the most vulnerable in our community.  Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life.”
Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy thanked FBI Special Agent Daren Kelly, Special Agent Paul Sellers and Supervisory Senior Regional Resident Agent Doug Herman for their help in the investigation and deputies with the Vermilion Sheriff’s Office who helped clear the church.
Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White released a statement about Saturday.
Today (Saturday), we were reminded of how special and resilient our community is,” Mayor White said. “Our prayers remain with St Mary Magdalen Church, the clergy, administrative staff and all the families attending the Mass. We are incredibly thankful to the brave, diligent individuals who kept our community safe under threat and the officers who remained focused under unimaginably stressful circumstances. We ask for prayers as our community recovers from this event, and most importantly, we thank God.”