A self-described survivalist in body armor shot and killed four people, including a woman and her 3-month-old baby boy in her arms, before surrendering to police in central Florida on Sunday, officials said.
The shooter, identified as Bryan Riley, 33, a former US Marine, also wounded an 11-year-old girl who underwent surgery for seven gunshot injuries, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told a news conference.
Riley, who had no connection to the victims, engaged in a shootout with police before giving up, and later tried to grab a police officer's gun while being treated in the hospital for his own gunshot wound, before being subdued again, Judd said.
A veteran of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Riley was working as a bodyguard and a security guard. His girlfriend of four years told investigators he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and occasional depression, Judd said.
About a week ago his mental health worsened and he told his girlfriend he had started speaking with God, Judd said.
"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.
Deputies responding to reports of two volleys of automatic gunfire arrived to find the suspect unarmed outside, wearing camouflage and body armor. Riley then went back inside and "we heard another volley, and a woman scream, and a baby whimper," Judd said.
A gunfight ensued before he came out unarmed and was arrested.
"It would have been nice if he would have come out with a gun ... We would have shot him up a lot. But he didn't because he was a coward," Judd said. "When someone chooses to give up, we take them into custody peacefully."
US lawyer shot
A prominent South Carolina lawyer whose family has deep roots in regional law enforcement has been shot in the head, just months after his son and wife were mysteriously murdered, authorities said.
The lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, was changing a tire on the side of a country road when someone in a truck drove past, then returned and fired at him, his lawyer, Jim Griffin, told The New York Times.
Murdaugh, 53, survived and was airlifted to a hospital, where he was able to describe the attack to his brother, media reports said.
The sheriff's office in coastal Hampton County confirmed the shooting and said it was investigating.
The attack came three months after Murdaugh returned home one day to find his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, a 22-year-old college student, shot to death in their estate in the village of Islandton, in the state's southwest.
No arrests have been made in that June 7 case, and prosecutors said recently that they still have no suspects.
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