BATON ROUGE - Three 16-year-old juveniles are facing charges of vehicular burglary after a crime spree in a Baton Rouge apartment complex early Wednesday morning. One of the suspects was shot while attempting to break into a car.

Representatives with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office (EBRSO) and the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) were among those who responded to the incident.

According to an official record, BRPD officers were dispatched to Jennifer Jean Drive, as this area is in BRPD's jurisdiction, and discovered a male teenager, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the torso.

Officials say police rendered aid to the young man until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene and rushed the teen to an area hospital where he is in reportedly critical condition, but stable. 

Police reported seeing a man named Maurice Mark at the crime scene, sitting in a vehicle. According to the official report, police took Mark into custody for questioning.

While interviewing Mark, police say he admitted to shooting the young man because the youth and an accomplice had been trying to burglarize his truck.

Mark explained, according to an official report, that he was at his sister's apartment, asleep, when a noise outside woke him up. Mark claimed he went to the window to investigate and saw two black males in ski masks breaking into his truck.

So, Mark claimed he proceeded to arm himself with a handgun, go outside, and confront the burglars.

While approaching them, Mark said he noticed one of them holding something that appeared to be a weapon, which Mark told police "could have been a screwdriver or tool." But, in the heat of the moment, Mark feared the item was a handgun.

So, Mark said he shot at one of the two burglars, and both fled.

Mark went on to tell police he chased the wounded burglar on Burbank drive, caught up with him, and demanded that he drop "his weapon," which Mark then realized was a screwdriver and not a gun.

Mark said he then demanded that the burglar lead him to where he'd stashed $10,000, which Mark said appeared to be missing from his truck.

The burglar was then allegedly forced into Mark's truck and driven to the 700 block of Jennifer Jean Drive where Mark instructed the burglar to retrieve his stolen money.

Mark apparently called 911 at this point and it was at this Jennifer Jean location where BRPD police encountered the severely injured youth and Mark, who was sitting in his truck nearby. 

Meanwhile, EBRSO deputies were sent to Armstrong Apartments along Burbank Drive, which is within EBRSO's jurisdiction and where Mark originally saw the alleged burglary take place from the window of his sister's apartment. 

The wounded 16-year-old, still hospitalized for his gunshot injury, is facing 15 counts of vehicle burglary-- seven of those charges are from a previous incident.

Mark, the vehicle owner/burglary victim who shot the suspect, is facing charges of simple kidnapping for taking the injured juvenile in his car to retrieve his stolen items before calling 911.

Another one of the suspects is being charged with at least one vehicle burglary from today and had stolen credit cards on his person from a previous theft that occurred on Feb. 18.

Charges are pending for the third suspect, but EBRSO added that all three teens have previously been arrested for breaking into cars.