Welfare check erupts into gunfire, hours-long standoff at Columbiana apartment complex

COLUMBIANA, Ala. (WBRC) - What began as a routine welfare check Saturday afternoon, Feb. 14, at Columbiana Villas quickly spiraled into gunfire, an injured police officer, and an hours-long standoff that left neighbors shaken.

Police say officers with the Columbiana Police Department responded to the apartment complex off Highway 25 around 1:30 p.m. after a neighbor reported that Ryan Darrell Holland had fired shots through a wall into her apartment.

When officers arrived to check on the possible victim, investigators say the situation escalated within moments.

“As officers were checking the possible victim, the victim fired at my officers. The officers returned fire. We just praise God that my guys are OK,” Police Chief Jeff Bowers said.

Authorities say Holland fired through his front door, striking one officer. That officer is expected to recover.

What followed was a tense standoff that stretched for hours as officers surrounded the apartment. Neighbors watched from behind closed doors and cracked blinds, unsure how the situation would unfold.

Exclusive video obtained by WBRC shows officers eventually pulling Holland from the apartment in handcuffs, bringing the ordeal to an end.

Residents who live nearby said the gunfire sent them scrambling for safety.

“He shot a cop. Know they don’t play,” one person can be heard saying in the video.

Several neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said Holland’s struggles with mental health were widely known within the complex.

“He had issues, man. He sometimes challenged people. Like when my kinfolks came or my son came, he would be like he’s in a gang because of the color clothes he has on — red or black or something. He was a little strange, man. If he’d taken his medicine, he acted normal, like normal people. But if he hadn’t taken his medicine, he’d get to tripping,” one resident said.

Another neighbor said tenants had previously been warned to report concerning behavior.

“Everybody knew, for one, that he was supposed to be taking medicine because he told the landlord, the landlady, everything, so they knew. They kind of warned us, ‘Hey, look out for him. Say something and let us know,’ because he had issues before with people,” the resident said.

Authorities say Holland was not injured during the exchange.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the incident.

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