January 1, 11-year-old girl ‘played dead’ to survive massacre of family

An ex-Marine fatally shot an entire Florida family — or so he thought. The sole survivor is an 11-year-old girl who told police she survived by pretending to be dead.

The gunman, Bryan Riley, shot the girl seven times, according to police.

“He thought he killed her,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference Thursday. “But this 11-year-old was very brave and very smart, and she outthought him. She said, ‘I played dead, and I prayed.’ And that’s the reason she’s alive today.”

Riley fired over 100 bullets and bizarrely confessed to the murders using military terminology.

Police charged the suspect with killing the girl’s grandmother, parents, and 3-month-old brother. Police said a motive is still unclear.

Source:

Girl, 11, ‘played dead’ to survive horrific massacre of Florida family