Brian Riley, a 19-year-old male from Fredericksburg, Virginia, was remembered by those who knew him as an outgoing and loving young man who always had a smile. A student of James Monroe High School, he was also said to have loved to dance. His life was cut short by gun violence in the summer of 2025.
Late on the night of July 15, 2025, Stafford County deputies responded to multiple reports of a shooting at the England Run Apartments subdivision. At approximately 10:56 p.m., they arrived on Kendrick Court to find Brian suffering from what was later determined to be eight gunshot wounds. First responders rendered aid, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives worked through the night, collecting evidence and speaking with witnesses. The investigation quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence and that two shooters were involved.
By the following afternoon, authorities had arrested two juvenile suspects in connection with the killing.
The two teens, Mekale A. Burns of Stafford and Tyrese W. Day of Spotsylvania, were charged and tried as adults in Stafford Circuit Court in September 2026. After hearing the evidence, the jury acquitted Mekale Burns of murder and nine related firearm charges. He was, however, convicted of a misdemeanor for possessing a firearm while under the age of 18.
Tyrese Day was also convicted of the same misdemeanor firearm possession charge. The jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the more serious charges against him, including murder and several firearms offenses, resulting in a mistrial on those counts. As of September 2026, a new trial for Day was pending, with a hearing scheduled for November of that year to set a new date.
