A former US marine has shot and killed four people, including a woman and her 3-month-old baby boy in her arms, before surrendering to police in the US state of Florida on Sunday.
The shooter, self-described survivalist in body armor, also wounded an 11-year-old girl who underwent surgery for multiple gunshot injuries.
The shooter was identified as Bryan Riley, 33, who had no connection to the victims. He engaged in a shootout with police near Lakeland before giving up, and later tried to grab a police officer’s gun while being treated in the hospital for his own gunshot wound.
His friend told investigators that the veteran of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. About a week ago his mental health worsened, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told a news conference.
“He said at one point to our detectives, ‘They begged for their lives and I killed them anyway’,” Judd said at a second news conference.
Riley also told sheriff’s deputies he was high on methamphetamine, Judd said.
The shooter first appeared randomly at the house where the shooting occurred on Saturday night, making nonsensical statements, but left by the time police responded.
He returned early Sunday morning, killing a 40-year-old man, the 33-year-old mother and her baby boy, Judd said. In the home next door, he also killed the 62-year-old mother of the woman, Judd said.
“In addition to that, if he’s not evil enough, he shot and killed the family dog,” Judd said.
A gunfight ensued before he came out unarmed and was arrested.
The incidents of mass shootings have seen an alarming surge in the US in recent years, reigniting the debate over gun control laws and misuse of lethal weapons.
At least 233 people were killed and 618 were injured by gun violence in more than 500 shootings across the US during the July 4 weekend.
In the first five months of 2021, gunfire killed more than 8,100 people in the US, accounting for about 54 lives lost per day, according to the Washington Post.
This year, the number of casualties, along with the overall number of shootings that have killed or injured at least one person, exceeds those of the first five months of 2020, which finished as the deadliest year of gun violence in at least two decades.
During his presidential campaign, US President Joe Biden pledged to reinstate an assault weapons ban, create a voluntary gun buyback program and send a bill to Congress to repeal liability protections for gun manufacturers and close background check loopholes.
Gun violence also includes suicide and according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 13,500 gun-related suicides this year.
With about 121 firearms in circulation for every 100 residents, the US is by far the most heavily armed society in the world, according to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, a research group
Source: Agencies
