On August 12, 2026, 15-year-old Riley Billingslea was fatally shot in the head inside an apartment on Claflin Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. Emergency responders pronounced Riley dead at the scene; a 13-year-old boy suffered a non-life-threatening graze wound to his torso.

Family members remember Riley as a bright, respectful teenager who wanted to become an engineer. His mother and grandmother described him as loving and playful; friends, relatives, and neighbors held a vigil, released balloons, and shared memories as they mourned.

Police arrested a 16-year-old male, whose name has not been released because of his age, and charged him with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Reports say the shooting may have followed an argument at a gathering of teenagers and that a gun was allegedly taken from a backpack, but no motive has been publicly disclosed and the case is in its early stages.

Did anyone in Kingsbridge Heights see or hear anything that afternoon that could help investigators?