ALVA, Okla. — In the quiet hours just after midnight, a routine welfare check in the town of Alva turned into a loss that’s rattling a community. Twenty‑six‑year‑old Jalin Scott Willyard lost his life early Monday when law‑enforcement officers opened fire during the check at a residence near North Second and Mill Street. The investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is underway, but many questions remain.
The chain of events began when the Woods County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Jalin’s mother, who was deeply worried about her son’s mental health. According to her, he was struggling with depression—and she did what any mother might: she asked for help. “He was just having some depression, and what else do you do as a mom?” she said through tears. The location: a modest home near North Second and Mill streets in Alva.
Deputies from Woods County and officers from the Alva Police Department responded. When they arrived, they say Willyard brandished a firearm and pointed it in the direction of the officers — prompting them to fire. Jalin was proclaimed dead at the scene; no officers or deputies were reported injured.
His family does not accept what they see as a clear-cut narrative. Jalin’s fiancée, Kyra Prophet, described him as “not a violent person,” a father first and foremost, devoted to his children and his fiancée. “In the end, you should be able to de‑escalate the situation without violence. He was a father — he wasn’t a violent person,” she said. The community, too, remembers him as a kind soul, working hard and giving of himself. His mother called him “a good kid. He’s never been in trouble. He would give you the shirt off his back.”
What haunts his mother now are revisions, second‑guesses: “Maybe he’d still be here if I didn’t call? But then again, what if I didn’t call and we could have helped him? I just don’t understand how a welfare check turns into a shooting.” The unresolved “what‑ifs” fill the space his absence has left behind. And while the OSBI investigates, the grief is real, raw, immediate.
Beyond the loss, there’s the void: Jalin was an ordained minister, trained volunteer firefighter, and pursuing credentials to become a licensed electrician and EMT. He was a devoted fiancé, caring father, beloved son and neighbor. His family insists the man who died wasn’t a threat — and the question now is whether the system tasked with protecting people in crisis has failed one of its own.
A GoFundMe page has been established to support his children and assist with funeral expenses as the family tries to navigate what comes next without him. The community has rallied around them, but the pain remains — and the questions still hang in the air. What exactly happened in that home at 12:00 a.m.? Why didn’t the welfare check end differently? And now, how will his children grow up without their dad?
For Jalin’s loved ones, this is a tragic chapter of unfulfilled hopes and unfinished conversations. For the responding officers and investigators, a cooling‑off period before the facts become clear. And for the town of Alva, it’s a grieving moment — for a man who gave so much, and whose life now prompts scrutiny of what should have been just a check-in.