William Billy Earl Collins Jr. was a 53-year-old Webster Parish Sheriff’s Deputy and Doyline police officer who was fatally shot on July 9, 2021, after responding to a disturbance call at a Green Tree Road residence in Doyline, Louisiana. Collins, a Desert Storm veteran who had served nearly a decade with the sheriff’s office and 13 years with the Doyline Police Department, was struck in the head when someone inside the home opened fire. He was airlifted to Ochsner LSU Health but died about two hours later.

After the shooting, the suspect barricaded inside the house and a standoff followed. The person was taken into custody around 11:00 p.m. with life-threatening injuries, was hospitalized, and later died on July 17, 2021. The community held a large funeral procession described as a Sea of Blue to honor Collins, who was remembered as a devoted husband, father and officer.

If anyone witnessed the response on July 9 or has information about the incident, please share what is known.