Future Missouri first lady speaks out after robbery
ST. LOUIS – Future first lady of Missouri Sheena Greitens and Missouri Governor-elect Eric Greitens thanked law enforcement Tuesday morning, speaking publicly for the first time since Sheena Greitens was robbed at gunpoint Monday night not far from the couple’s St. Louis home.
Sheena Greitens told reporters Tuesday she is safe following the ordeal.
“We are all aware that what happened to me and our family last night happens to far too many people and far too many families across this city and across this state, and that cannot continue,” Sheena Greitens said.
The Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, said in an incident summary that Sheena Greitens had just left a restaurant around 6:20 p.m., and was seated inside her vehicle in the parking lot looking at her cellphone when her car door was suddenly opened.
Police say the suspect pointed a gun at her and demanded property. CBS affiliate KMOV reports Greitens turned over her cellphone and laptop and saw several males running from the area.
Police were called to the scene. Further investigation revealed another vehicle on the parking lot had been broken into, and a cellphone was taken.
Police said that the male victim in that case began to track his cellphone, which led officers to the suspects. Three males are in custody, and ages are 14, 15, and 19, according to police. The stolen laptop and cellphones were recovered from the suspect’s vehicle, which authorities say was also stolen, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In a Facebook statement Monday, Eric Greitens said he is now “more than ever” committed to law enforcement who were at his wife’s side “within minutes” and focused on creating safer neighborhoods.
Speaking Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL said he is “thankful to God she is here with us this morning.” He said the couple plans on forgiving the young suspects and sitting down with the teens and their families, but he also called for justice.
“As a husband, my first thought was for Sheena’s safety,” Greitens said. “My second thought was for justice. I’m glad that the men and women of law enforcement found them before I did.”
The couple has two young boys. Greitens, a Republican, is to take over for term-limited Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Jan. 9.
