FORDHAM, the Bronx (PIX11) — A heartbroken grandmother is grieving after her 15-year-old grandson was fatally shot in the head in a Bronx apartment on Wednesday night.

“He was simply a nice kid who loved basketball. Everybody had faults, but he was good,” the boy’s grandmother, Elaine Rogers, told PIX11 News on Thursday.

Riley Billingslea, 15, left, was shot and killed in a Bronx apartment on Aug. 12, 2026. (Credit: Family)

Riley Billingslea, 15, left, was shot and killed in a Bronx apartment on Aug. 12, 2026. (Credit: Family)

Riley Billingslea, 15, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in an apartment on Claflin Avenue in Fordham just before 5:30 p.m., authorities said. He died at the scene.

A 13-year-old boy was grazed in the chest during the shooting but was able to escape, police said.

The younger teen told detectives a 16-year-old suspect shot him and Billingslea during an argument. The shooter allegedly pulled a gun out of his backpack and pulled the trigger before fleeing the scene.

While investigators try to piece together what happened, the tragedy has struck a chord with neighbors.

“I saw nothing wrong. It was cool friends,” said a next-door neighbor.

Billingslea is the second teen who was fatally shot in the head in the Bronx this week.

On Monday, 16-year-old John Nunez was shot and killed in a Crotona Park apartment. Police are searching for a 16-year-old shooter who may have been playing with the gun when it went off.

There have been no arrests in either case.

Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Mira Wassef is an award-winning reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined the PIX11 News digital team in 2022. See more of her work here.

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