According to the sheriff, before Riley returned to the house, officers exchanged heavy gunfire.
Four people, including a mother who is still nursing her dead child, were killed after a fierce gunfight early Sunday with a former Marine Florida sheriff saying he was “fight ready” and so aggressive that He tried to snatch the gun from the police from his hospital gurney. Caught.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Brian Riley, 33, appeared to be suffering from mental health issues and had been slowly resolving for weeks, repeatedly telling his girlfriend that he could communicate directly with God. Huh.
After a shootout with police and deputies – where dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” were exchanged outside a Lakeland home, officials said, officers shot an 11-year-old girl multiple times, as well as Also three deceased victims. These included a 33-year-old mother still living with her 3-month-old baby boy, the infant’s grandmother, and a 62-year-old in a neighboring home.
Judd said during a news conference on Sunday that Riley, who worked as a sharps shooter in both Iraq and Afghanistan, randomly targeted the family.
Preliminary evidence suggests Justice Gleason, 40, happened upon an unlucky stranger to mow his lawn on Saturday night, when Riley said God told her to stop because Gleason’s daughter was about to commit suicide. .
A second, unknown victim, came to confront Riley, telling her the story was not true and warning that they would call the police if he did not leave, Judd said. Officers responded to the scene but Riley was never found.
About nine hours later, around 4.30 p.m., Riley returned home, laying down glowsticks to make a way for the house to drag the officers “into an ambush,” Judd said.
Randomly, a lieutenant in the distance heard a popping noise and immediately put the agency on active-shooter mode, bringing all state and local law enforcement in the area to the scene.
After the sound of gunfire, officers arrived at the house and Riley’s white truck caught fire and an unarmed Riley, dressed in camouflage.
Riley immediately ran inside, where officers heard another round of gunfire, “a woman screaming and a child whispering,” Judd said.
The officers tried to enter in front of the house, but it was barricaded. As he circled backwards, he encountered Riley, who had full body armor, including head and knees, and a bulletproof vest.
According to the sheriff, before Riley returned to the house, officers exchanged heavy gunfire.
Everything went silent, Judd said, until a helicopter unit alerted officers on the grounds that Riley was coming out. He was shot once and was ready to surrender.
Meanwhile, officers heard screams for help inside the house, but weren’t sure if there were additional shooters and feared the house was trapped. A brave constable ran and caught an 11-year-old girl who was shot at least seven times.
She said there were three dead people inside, Judd said, she was taken to surgery and she was expected to survive.
The depot sent robots into the house to check for explosives and other traps. When it became clear, they found the unidentified mother and child, Gleason, and the family dog dead from gunshot wounds. The child’s grandmother was also found dead in a house outside. Officials did not say whether Gleason had connections to other people in the household.
“He begged for his life and I killed him anyway,” Judd said as Riley told him during an interrogation, with Riley playing mind games during interviews with detectives.
Officials declined to say how many times the victims were shot or where they were in the home, but said they were all hiding out of fear.
Authorities said Riley’s girlfriend of four years, with whom he also lived, had been an accomplice and was shocked to say that he had never been violent, but suffered from PTSD and became increasingly precocious.
She said she had spent the past week on a mission God had delivered supplies for Hurricane Ida victims, including US$1,000 worth of cigars.
“Before this morning, this man was a war hero. He fought for his country in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Judd said. “And this morning he is a cold-blooded killer.” Riley, who had no criminal history , also told officers that he was on methamphetamine. Officials said his vehicle was also carrying gunpowder items, including a bleeding control kit.
While being treated at the hospital, Riley jumped and tried to grab an officer’s gun. “They had to fight with him in the emergency room again,” Grady said, before he was eventually tied up and medicated.
He is expected to recover and will be transferred to jail to face the charges.
“The big question we all have is why?” State Attorney Brian Haas said. “We may or may never know today.”