Man chases teens from home, holds them at gunpoint

SEMMES, Ala. (WALA) - A homecoming prank leads to gunfire in Semmes. Deputies said five students were shot at and held at gunpoint. A Semmes city worker was arrested in connection with the incident.  

Toilet paper still litters the yard of Mark Raiford's Semmes home. It started as a prank until the teenagers were caught.

"The owner of the home came out and gave chase to the subjects and fired several shots striking their vehicle as they fled the scene," said Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran.

Cochran said at least five shots were fired at the vehicle. This incident, however, didn't stop there.

"As it further unraveled, the homeowner later caught up with these kids at a service station a few blocks away and held them at gunpoint where deputies arrived on the scene," Cochran said.

That's when Raiford was taken into custody. Cochran said the kids didn't pick Raiford's home randomly.

"We understand there is a child that lives at the residence that attends school with some of the students that were doing the rolling of the yard and ringing the doorbell right before they left," Cochran said.

Cochran said the five teens could face misdemeanor charges. He said everyone in this situation is lucky.

FOX10 Spoke to Robert Chambliss, whose 17-year old son was also involved in the rolling.

Chambliss says he was outraged when he learned a prank between classmates went this far.

“Any of the kids in the car could have been killed, easily killed,” said Chambliss.

The father says he allowed his son to take-part in the homecoming prank because it’s his Senior year and rolling is considered a tradition between students and parents in the area.

Chambliss says his son called him as he lay out on the floor of the gas station with a gun to his head.

“He's basically telling me that - dad I'm on the ground face down, this guy is waving a gun at me. He didn't know what to exactly say,” said Chambliss.

Raiford is charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle, a felony that could get him up to 20 years in jail.

Cochran said that the gun Raiford used to shoot at the vehicle was a .380 pistol and that the gun Raiford used to hold the teens at the gas station was a glock pistol.