In the early morning of the 5th local time, a sudden shooting incident in a private house outside Lakeland, Florida, united States, killed 4 people and seriously injured 1 person. Local police said the suspect was a former U.S. Marine, was elected a "sharpshooter" during his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and turned himself in after being rounded up by police at the scene of the shooting.
According to CNN, the shooting began on Saturday night local time. At that time, police received a call from a woman saying that a suspicious vehicle was parked outside her house and that a strange man, describing himself as "God's Messenger," wanted to have a conversation with her daughter. A police officer arrived at the woman's residence 6 minutes later but did not see any suspicious vehicles or pedestrians. About nine hours later, at around 4:30 a.m. local time, a police officer on patrol two miles away heard gunshots and rushed to the scene with other officers. At the same time, police began receiving police calls about the shooting.
Upon arrival at the scene, the officers noticed a crackling sound coming from inside a truck on fire. Following a path marked with glow sticks in the courtyard, they saw a man in camouflage uniform flash into the house. Soon gunshots, women's screams and babies' cries mingled from the house. A police officer tried to enter the residence from the front but found the entrance blocked. He then detoured through the backyard and broke in, finding the suspect wearing a bulletproof vest, knee pads, helmets and other protective equipment. The suspect then opened fire on the officer, who responded and withdrew from the house, after which the suspect opened fire with other officers. After some time, he lowered his weapon, walked out with his hands raised, and the police quickly took control of the suspect and took him to the hospital. During the medical treatment, the suspect suddenly broke out again and tried to seize the police's gun, but was quickly subdued.
The shooting killed a total of four people, including a 40-year-old man, a three-month-old baby with his 33-year-old mother and 62-year-old grandmother, and an 11-year-old girl who was shot in multiple places. On the morning of the 5th local time, photos of the scene released by the Polk County police showed that one of the glass doors of the residence was completely broken, two windows and a wall were covered with bullet holes, and a burned truck was parked outside the courtyard. A police officer involved in the operation said the situation was very serious, "at least two close-range exchanges of fire with suspects, and no less than 100 bullets were fired from both sides." ”
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the media that the 33-year-old suspect, Brian Riley, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years, was sent to Iraq in 2008, and then served in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, where he was elected "sharpshooter." After retiring from the military, he was employed by ESS Security Investigations as a bodyguard and provided security. Riley has a gun license and no previous criminal record.
During the investigation, the suspect's girlfriend told police that Riley had PTSD. She said Riley had depressive symptoms in the past but never showed violent tendencies. About a week ago, Riley told his girlfriend after providing security for a church in Orlando, "I can talk directly to God." During police questioning, Riley described himself as "a survivalist" and admitted to taking methamphetamine.
The investigation also found that the city of Brandon, where the suspect lived, was about 20 miles from the site of the shooting. Polk County Sheriff Judd said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that no link had been found between the suspect and the victim, and it was difficult to explain why the suspect chose the family to carry out the shooting.
Author: Lu Yuwen
Editor: Liu Chang