Marine veteran of Afghan war kills four in Florida before surrendering

A retired Marine sharpshooter who deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq shot three adults and an infant to death near Lakeland, Fla., then exchanged gunfire with sheriff’s deputies before surrendering, authorities said Sunday.

Polk County sheriff’s officials identified the gunman as Bryan J. Riley, 33, of Brandon, Fla., and said he may have been suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the rampage began about 4:30 a.m. Sunday and authorities did not know if any connection between Ruth’s victims and Riley.

“He says at one point to our detectives, ‘They begged for their lives, and I killed them anyway,’” Judd said. “He’s evil in the flesh. He was a rabid animal.”

The victims were identified as a 40-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman a 62-year-old grandmother and a 3-month-old boy. An 11-year-old girl was wounded.