Police were searching Thursday for a teenage suspect after Riley Billingslea was found dead inside a Kingsbridge Heights apartment.
NEW YORK — A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot and his 13-year-old friend was wounded inside a Bronx apartment Wednesday evening, authorities said, as detectives searched Thursday for a teenage suspect and worked to determine what led to the gunfire.
Police identified the boy who died as Riley Billingslea. Officers responding shortly before 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 found him with a gunshot wound inside a fifth-floor apartment on Claflin Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. Emergency medical workers pronounced him dead at the scene. The younger boy suffered a graze wound to his torso and was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.
Investigators were looking for a 16-year-old in connection with the shooting, according to local reports citing police and law enforcement sources. ABC7 reported that the wounded 13-year-old told detectives the shooting occurred during an argument inside the apartment. Authorities had not publicly identified the person being sought, and no arrest had been announced by Thursday evening.
The 13-year-old told investigators that the other teenager had a firearm in a backpack before the shooting, ABC7 reported. Police were still investigating the sequence of events and had not publicly announced whether detectives believed the shooting was intentional or accidental. The firearm had not been recovered, according to reports citing police sources.
CBS News New York reported that several people were believed to have been inside the apartment when Billingslea was shot. Police sources told the station that the bullet also grazed the 13-year-old. The wounded boy was expected to survive. Investigators continued examining the apartment building and gathering evidence Thursday as they sought to establish who was present and what happened immediately before the gunfire.
Billingslea’s grandmother, Elaine Rogers, told CBS News New York that she learned about the shooting after two of her grandson’s friends arrived at her home Wednesday night. She urged anyone with information about what happened to come forward. Rogers said that if the shooting was accidental, she wanted the person responsible to explain what occurred.
Rogers described her grandson as respectful, while a neighbor recalled him helping carry groceries. Family members were left seeking answers as detectives continued their investigation. Authorities had not released additional information establishing a motive, and the circumstances surrounding the dispute remained under investigation.
The shooting came during a week in which police were also investigating another fatal shooting involving a teenager inside a Bronx apartment. On Monday, 16-year-old John Nunez was found fatally shot inside an apartment in a separate case. Police have said investigators were examining whether that shooting happened while teenagers were handling a firearm. Authorities have not said the two cases are connected.
Police remained focused Thursday on finding the teenager sought in Billingslea’s death and determining the circumstances of the shooting. No arrest had been announced, the firearm had not been recovered, and detectives had not publicly issued a final determination about whether the gunfire was intentional or accidental.
Author note: Last updated August 13, 2026.