A former Marine who claimed that he was receiving messages from God broke into two homes outside Lakeland, Florida, fatally shooting four people early Sunday morning. Among those shot included a 3-month-old baby and the pet dog, according to authorities.
Wearing body armor, Bryan Riley allegedly barricaded himself in one of the homes where he got into a shootout with officers, CNN reported.
After the standoff, Riley eventually surrendered, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. Once Riley was taken into custody, he attempted to take a gun from a Lakeland police officer, Judd said. The officers subdued Riley.
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Four people were shot and killed, and the gunfire wounded a child, authorities said.
Police found a 40-year-old man named Justice Gleason, a 3-month-old baby, and the baby's 33-year-old mother dead in one of the homes Riley entered.
The baby's 62-year-old grandmother was also found dead in a second home on the property, Judd said. She was hiding in her closet, according to a criminal affidavit.
Each of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds, and the family's pet dog, Diogi, was also found dead with a gunshot wound, the affidavit said.
Riley, 33, is now being faced with four counts of First-degree murder as well as charges of attempted murder, arson, armed burglary, and shooting into a building, according to the affidavit. There is no clear motive as to why Riley went on, what police are calling, an "active shooter rampage," Judd said.
Authorities also shared that they did not believe the suspect knew any of the victims.
"We just know we had a madman with a lot of guns that shot and killed innocent people," Judd said Sunday, CNN reported.
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The incident started on Saturday evening when a woman contacted the police about a suspicious man, believed to be Riley, who was outside their homemaking odd statements.
The caller told authorities he had parked outside their home, claiming that God had sent him there because a girl named "Amber" was going to die by suicide, the affidavit said.
When the caller informed the man that she did not have a daughter named Amber, he refused to leave, the sheriff said. Gleason and the caller told the man to go, saying they would call the police, to which the man fled.
Deputies responded but could not find the suspect or the car at the residence, Judd said. However, at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, a deputy two miles away heard two volleys of automatic gunfire.
Deputies responded and, on arrival, found a truck on fire, hearing popping noises from the vehicle. Glow sticks were laid out in the yard, forming a path, and it was there they saw a man wearing camo who quickly fled inside the home, Judd said. The deputies then reported hearing disturbing sounds.
"At that moment in time, we heard another volley and a woman scream and a baby whimper," Judd said.
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It was then that Riley barricaded himself in the house, getting into a firefight with the officers on the scene.
"It was a tough situation, and it entailed at least two shootouts in close quarter with the suspect," the sheriff said.
Riley then peacefully exited the home after shooting at a lieutenant and having shots returned at him.
"If he'd given us the opportunity, we'd have shot him up a lot, but he didn't because he was a coward," Judd said Sunday. "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."
After being arrested, Riley admitted to deputies that he shot several people and said that voices and "God" told him to do it, the criminal affidavit said.
He went on to say that he shot the infant "because I'm a sick guy," he allegedly said. "I want to confess to all of it and be sent to jail."
"The suspect confirmed while he was shooting the victims, they were pleading for their lives, and he continued to shoot them anyway," the affidavit states. "The suspect admitted one of the victims was hiding and kept saying, 'please no, please no' while he shot her."
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Riley is suspected of suffering from mental health issues, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, after serving for seven years in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We're not dealing with a traditional criminal here. What we're dealing with is someone who obviously had mental health issues at least this last week had PTSD," Judd said.
His girlfriend shared with authorities that he had been diagnosed with PTSD and was acting erratically the past week. He told her he was receiving visions from God, the sheriff said.
"She said he had PTSD. 'I've seen him depressed. I've never seen him violent,' she said," Judd said. "But a week ago today, meaning last Sunday, he did security at a church in Orlando. And he came home, and he said, you know, God spoke to him, and now he can talk directly to God. And she said, 'I've never seen that kind of behavior.'"
