HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputies have taken a shooting suspect into custody after an incident at 517 136th Avenue in Holland Township. The victim, a 29-year-old woman, is recovering from being shot in the face.
The suspect, identified by Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Bennett as 31-year-old Willie Thomas Riley, is in Ottawa County Jail after being treated for minor injuries at Holland Hospital. He faces multiple felonies, Bennett said.
“The victim and the suspect had been involved in a domestic relationship,” Bennett wrote, adding they’d separated before the shooting.
At the time of the shooting there were three young children in the apartment, Bennett said, ranging in ages from 18 months to 10 years old. The children were not physically hurt and are now staying with relatives, Bennett said.
Deputies arriving on the scene could hear an argument and the sound of a gunshot. They burst into the apartment as Riley jumped from a second story balcony and fled into a wooded area. Bennett had advised people in the area to stay inside “for the time being” as the scene was active.
The shooting victim was rushed to Holland Hospital for treatment, where she was able to talk to police, deputies at the scene of the shooting were searching for Riley..
After about an hour, police found Riley east of that apartment in a wooded area and taken into custody without incident. Police recovered what’s believed to be the firearm used in the shooting.
Earlier, police alerted the media that one person had been shot and was being treated at Holland Hospital. Bennett indicated that Riley had fled the scene on foot and was believed to be armed and dangerous. Police from the cities of Holland and Zeeland provided mutual aid.
Police closed 136th between Felch and James streets. He gave the all-clear just after 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, after which 136th Avenue between Felch and James streets was reopened.
