Sheriff: Ex-marine sharpshooter kills 4 in Fla.
A former Marine sharpshooter who served in Afghanistan fatally shot four people, including an infant, in two homes near Lakeland, Florida, early Sunday and exchanged gunfire with sheriff’s deputies before he was taken into custody, authorities said.
The gunman, who also shot and wounded an 11-year-old girl, surrendered after he was shot at least once during two gunfights with deputies in which dozens, if not hundreds, of rounds were fired in a residential neighborhood in Polk County, Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters.
Three of the people who were killed — a 40-yearold man, a 33-year-old woman and a 3-month-old boy whom the woman was cradling in her arms — were found inside one home, authorities said. A fourth victim, the infant’s 62-yearold grandmother, was found shot to death in another home on the same property.
Investigators could not say what prompted the rampage, which they said began around 4:30 a.m.
They identified the gunman as Bryan Riley, 33, of Brandon, Florida, which is east of Tampa. He was taken into custody by officers from several law enforcement agencies in tactical gear as a helicopter hovered above the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Judd said at a news conference that Riley was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and was wearing body armor and camouflage when he barricaded himself inside one of the homes. There was no known connection between the victims and Riley, who works as a bodyguard, Judd said.
“But he says at one point to our detectives, ‘They begged for their lives, and I killed them anyway,’ ”Judd said. “He’s evil in the flesh.”