#Florida sheriff ambushed full#

When they circled to the back, they encountered Riley, who appeared then to have put on full body armor including head and knee coverings and a bulletproof vest.Īuthorities exchanged heavy gunfire, with dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” fired, before Riley retreated back into the home, according to the sheriff.Įverything fell silent, Judd said, until a helicopter unit alerted authorities on the ground that Riley was coming out. Officers tried to enter the front of the house, but it was barricaded. Riley immediately ran inside, where authorities heard another round of gunfire, “a woman scream and a baby whimper,” Judd said. Investigators said preliminary evidence shows that 40-year-old victim Justice Gleason just happened to be an unlucky stranger out mowing his lawn on Saturday night when Riley drove by his home and began making deranged claims about the man’s family.Īuthorities responded to the scene but never found Riley.Ībout nine hours later, at about 4.30am on Sunday, Riley returned to the home, laying out glow-sticks to create a path leading to the house, in what the sheriff’s office deduced was a ploy to draw officers “into an ambush”, Judd said.Īnother officer who just happened to be on duty some distance away heard popping noises and immediately alerted the authorities, who prepared for dealing with a potential shooter and brought a police presence swiftly to the scene.įollowing the sounds of gunfire, authorities arrived at the home and found Riley’s white truck ablaze and an apparently unarmed Riley outside, dressed in camouflage. Judd said Riley’s girlfriend told authorities Riley had been slowly unraveling for weeks and repeatedly told her that he could communicate directly with God. Polk county sheriff Grady Judd said Riley, a former US Marine who served as a sharpshooter in the US wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, seemed to have targeted his victims at random and appeared to be suffering from mental illness. An 11-year-old girl who was shot seven times survived.