{"id":329657,"date":"2026-08-25T23:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T23:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/329657\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T23:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T23:00:12","slug":"bronx-grandmother-pleads-for-friends-of-teen-killed-in-shooting-to-aid-police-as-she-mourns-at-brooklyn-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/329657\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronx grandmother pleads for friends of teen killed in shooting to aid police as she mourns at Brooklyn service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friends and family gathered at Lawrence H. Woodward Funeral Home in Brooklyn on Aug. 25 to celebrate the life of Riley Billingslea, who was gunned down on Aug. 12 while spending time with what his family called the wrong crowd.<\/p>\n

Police<\/a> stood outside the funeral parlor as grieving teens clung to their parents and wept over the loss of someone so young. Elaine Rogers, Billingslea\u2019s grandmother and legal guardian with whom he lived in the Bronx, spoke with amNewYork through tears, urging the teens who were inside the apartment to come forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that there was more than just one person in the room, and you know everyone\u2019s got something to say, but they\u2019re obviously not talking to the cops,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cSo I would like to ask the kids \u2014 I don\u2019t want to put them in any danger \u2014 but I would like for them to speak. This person needs to be off the streets. From what I\u2019m hearing of [the shooter], he\u2019s not a really good person. I know what he did to my grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Elaine Rogers, Billingslea\u2019s grandmother and legal guardian with whom he lived in the Bronx, spoke with amNewYork through tears, urging the teens who were inside the apartment to come forward. photo by Dean Moses \"\"Family and friends were left in heartache.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the person that lives in that apartment, the grandmother? Where are they in all of this? Where are the answers from them?\u201d she implored.<\/p>\n

According to police, Billingslea had gathered with friends in a fifth-floor apartment at 2825 Claflin Ave. when the shooting occurred. Authorities allege that the suspect, whom police identified as 16-year-old Kalvin Veloz, suddenly pulled a handgun from his backpack and opened fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe produces a firearm from his backpack, inserts a magazine, racks the gun back, and makes a statement: \u2018I\u2019m going to throw some pain.\u2019 And at that point, he shoots Riley in the head, killing him instantly,\u201d NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.<\/p>\n

Police said Veloz also allegedly grazed a 13-year-old boy in the chest after a bullet struck a wall and ricocheted. Billingslea was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

Rogers said her grandson had previously lived with his mother in Brooklyn but began spending time with what she described as bad influences. The family later enrolled him in military school, but the arrangement did not work out, and he moved in with Rogers in the Bronx. <\/p>\n

Despite the change, she said, he again fell in with the wrong crowd.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Emotion overcame family.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Family and friends were left in heartache.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

The grief-stricken Rogers pleaded with those who were with Billingslea that day to tell investigators what happened.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to meet friends wherever he goes, and those friends unfortunately led him to that apartment,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI want his friends to speak up. If you are truly a friend, then it\u2019s not enough to just come tell me. I need you to tell someone who\u2019s going to be able to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the funeral home, mourners formed a prayer circle before entering. Family members asked attendees to wear blue in Billingslea\u2019s honor, while others wore t-shirts bearing his image.<\/p>\n

Bishop Boyde Singletary said the killing has devastated not only the family but the wider community.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mother is hurting, the grandma is hurting, the school, the family. It\u2019s overwhelming,\u201d Singletary said. \u201cThey need to come forth to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Billingslea had fallen in with the wrong crowd, Rogers described him as a kind-hearted teenager who often helped neighbors carry groceries. Police also said he had no criminal record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will remember him as a fun-loving, caring person, able to speak to anyone,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cHe was about fun and respect. I\u2019ve always told him to be respectful, and I heard a woman speaking about how respectful he was to her, helping her carry her bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Veloz remains on the run.
\n\"\"Outside the funeral home, mourners formed a prayer circle before entering. Family members asked attendees to wear blue in Billingslea\u2019s honor, while others wore T-shirts bearing his photograph.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friends and family gathered at Lawrence H. Woodward Funeral Home in Brooklyn on Aug. 25 to celebrate the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,303,10687,9,24,63,103,104,1096,123970,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-329657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-crime","tag-funeral","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nypd","tag-police","tag-shooting","tag-teen-shooting","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}