Bryan Riley: Florida war vet high on meth kills 4 including baby amid shooting spree
LAKELAND, FLORIDA: Florida cops have arrested a 33-year-old man who was responsible for a brutal massacre in a Lakeland home, where he reportedly killed a family of four, including an infant and a senior. The suspect has been identified by Polk County Sheriff's Office as Bryan Riley, a Marine veteran who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past. After gunning down the Lakeland family, he further engaged in a shootout with the police officials before they managed to nab him.
According to police reports, the former Marine-turned-'survivalist' fatally shot 40-year-old Justice Gleason, his wife, their three-month-old baby girl, and her 62-year-old grandmother. He even proceeded to shoot dead the family dog. Riley also shot an 11-year-old girl in the family seven times but fortunately, she survived. She is currently undergoing treatment at the Tampa General Hospital. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd added that Riley did not pay any heed to the family begging for their lives and mercilessly killed them one after another. Appeared to be dealing with mental health issues, Riley told the family that he was killing them to "save" their daughter from a suicide attempt.
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Who is Bryan Riley?
Bryan Riley had been a US Marine sharp-shooter with four years of active service to his name before he was honorably discharged. He reportedly struggled with PTSD after service but eventually landed a job as a security guard at a church in Orlando. He was also found to be a methamphetamine addict but did not have any prior criminal record to his name.
"This guy, prior to this morning, was a war hero. As of now, we find zero connection between our shooter and our victims," the police revealed while addressing the media after Riley's arrest.
Meanwhile, Riley's girlfriend revealed that he showed clear signs of mental health problems over the past few weeks, as he recently declared that he could speak back to God. He added that God has instructed him to aid in Hurricane Ida relief work. However, his behavior became more erratic as the week proceeded.
Before the shootout, Riley reportedly saw Gleason on a lawnmower. Around 7:30 pm on Saturday, September 4, the Sheriff's office received a call about a suspicious car near North Lakeland. When the deputies reached the spot, the car had already left, but a woman told the police that the driver said to her, "God sent me here to speak to one of your daughters, Amber."
The driver, who happened to be Riley, had seen Gleason on the lawnmower and decided that he had to save their fictitious daughter Amber. Even when Gleason told him that there was nobody named Amber in their house, Bryan Riley refused to leave. When Gleason's family threatened to call the cops on Riley, he responded saying, "I'm the cops for God."
However, he left soon afterward as the cops could not find him when they arrived at the Gleason household around 7:36 pm.
Meanwhile, Riley returned to his home in Brandon and told his girlfriend that God gave him a vision that Gleason's daughter was going to commit suicide. "There's no room for doubters in my life," he lashed back at his girlfriend when she sounded skeptical about his thoughts. By the time she woke up the next morning, Riley had already gone out.
Around 4:23 am on Sunday morning, a lieutenant heard two volleys of automatic gunfire while the Sheriff's office received calls about an active shooter. When police arrived at Gleason's house, they found a truck on fire while glow sticks lined up the path toward the house entrance.
Then they found Riley in full body armor but did not see a firearm with him. Soon they heard another round of gunshots and a woman and a baby screaming and crying. The lieutenant tried to enter the house and was shot at by the suspect. The other officers immediately responded with gunfire with nearly hundred rounds being fired. At the house, four members and the family dog were found dead while the 11-year-old girl was severely wounded.
The gunman surrendered in the end and was handcuffed and taken to the hospital. However, at the hospital, Riley tried to jump and grab one of the police officer's guns in the emergency room before being restrained with force.
"You see, it's easy to shoot innocent children and babies and people in the middle of the night when you've got the gun and they don't, but he was not much of a man. He's evil in the flesh. He's a rabid animal," Sheriff Judd shared about Riley.