Bryan Riley Wiki – Bryan Riley Biography
Bryan Riley is a Florida man and former Marine sharpshooter accused of fatally shooting a baby and three other people in a “mass murder” at a Polk County home before surrendering to police. An 11-year-old girl was shot multiple times but is expected to survive.
Authorities believe Riley did not know the victims. He was wounded during a shootout with deputies and was treated at a hospital before being booked into jail.
Age
He is 37 years old.
Incident Details
Police responded to the home about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 5, 2021, Polk County authorities said at a press conference. No deputies or police officers were injured in two shootouts between Riley and responding law enforcement, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. Riley, wearing body armor and other protective equipment and multiple guns, told police he had used methamphetamine.
Polk Co. sheriffs deputies escorting 33-year-old Bryan Riley to county jail.
He’s accused of shooting and killing four people, including a baby.
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— Jessica Eley FOX 35 (@FOX35Jessica) September 5, 2021
Victims
One of the victims has been identified as 40-year-old Justice Gleason. The other victims have not been identified because Florida’s Marsy’s Law requires the permission of the victim’s family to release names. Police said one victim was a 33-year-old woman shot killed while holding a 3-month-old infant in her arms. The infant was also fatally shot. A 62-year-old woman, the mother, and grandmother of two of the other victims was the fourth victim.
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Police said Riley also killed the victims’ family dog, named Diogi, after a Polk County Sheriff’s Office K-9 that was shot and killed along with Deputy Sheriff Matt Williams during a 2006 pursuit, Judd said. The 11-year-old girl, a Lake Gibson Middle School student, had seven bullet wounds and underwent surgery at a Tampa hospital. Judd said, “She is certainly expected to recover, and we thank God for that.”
Police Report
The 33-year-old Riley, a self-described survivalist, told deputies, “you know why I did this,” after he was taken into custody, Judd said at the press conference. Judd said nine hours before the killings, Riley went to the same house near Lakeland, Florida, and told a man and woman outside that “God sent me here to speak to one of your daughters.” Judd said Riley was told that the woman he was looking for didn’t live there. Judd said Riley told his girlfriend God had spoken to him and said he had to save a woman named Amber, who would kill herself.
“He was a Marine. He did four years of service and was honorably discharged and did another three years as a reserve. He was deployed to Iraq in 2008, Afghanistan during 2009-2010. During that period, he was designated as a sharpshooter,” Judd said about Riley, who lives in Brandon, Florida, about 35 miles away from the scene of the shootings. Riley is employed as a security contractor, Judd said. He had a concealed weapons license, Judd said.
“We located his cooperative girlfriend, and she said she had been dating him approximately four years. She said he had PTSD,” Judd said. Riley’s girlfriend told investigators she had seen him depressed but never violent. “She said but a week ago today, last Sunday, he did security at a church in Orlando. And he came home, and he said God spoke to him, and now he could speak directly to God. And she said I’d never seen that type of behavior. But once again, he wasn’t violent,” Judd said. The sheriff added, “Virtually no criminal history. When he was a teenager, he had a small charge and then almost nothing. We’re not dealing with a traditional criminal here. But what we’re dealing with is someone who had mental health issues, at least this last week, had PTSD, and whether or not we follow that back to the military, we don’t know.”
Police are still investigating, and charges have not yet been filed against Riley, authorities said. It was not immediately clear if he has hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf.