SPD: Mother leaves 5 kids home alone for days

By KTBS Staff

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    SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — Five children — ages 6, 4, 3, 1 and 5 months — were left alone at home for days, leading to their mothers’ arrest Monday, Shreveport police said today.

Leanisha Broom was already wanted on warrants charging her with child desertion from a couple of years ago. She now faces five more counts.

Shreveport police youth services detectives got involved in the case after officers were dispatched to the 5500 block of Virginia Avenue on Saturday morning. A family member reported not being able to reach Broom by phone and she could not be found. Their concern was for her five young children.

Detectives learned Broom had not been at her home or at work since Thursday. The eldest child, a six-year-old, told officers Broom stopped by briefly that morning to drop off a breakfast biscuit from McDonald’s before leaving again.

Broom had active bench warrants for three counts of child desertion from 2023 and an additional count from 2021. The U.S. Marshals attempted to arrest Broom Thursday, but she had not returned home.

Due to the circumstances, Child Protective Services was notified and placed the children in the custody of a family member pending further investigation.

Broom was found Monday and arrested on the current charges and outstanding warrants.

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