Cops: Man surrenders in toddler shooting case
Jun. 25—The man accused of shooting and critically wounding a toddler June 17 inside a crowded home in Brunswick surrendered to police on Friday, said Angela Smith, assistant chief of administration for the Brunswick Police Department.
Aaron Holland, 23, turned himself in at the Brunswick Police Department at around 10 a.m., ending a weeklong manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
Holland was booked into the Glynn County Detention Center at 11:50 a.m. Friday, charged by Brunswick police with three counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Holland also was wanted on outstanding felony warrants from the county police department and the sheriff's office.
The 2-year-old boy, Landon Jenkins, remains in critical condition at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., Smith said.
"We ask the community to keep (the child) in their thoughts and prayers," Smith said. "He has a long road toward recovery."
Police said Holland fired several rounds from inside the bathroom of a crowded residence in the 2500 block of Ellis Street at around 10 p.m. June 17. One bullet struck Landon, police said.
Holland climbed through a window in the bathroom and fled, Smith said.
Several people were inside the home at the time of the shooting, including four children younger than 10 years old, Smith said.
Family members drove Landon to Southeast Georgia Health System's Brunswick hospital, from which he was flown to UF Health hospital in Jacksonville.
Police issued warrants for Landon after the shooting and warned the public that he was to be considered armed and dangerous.
Brunswick police were joined by the Glynn County Police Department, the county sheriff's office, the U.S. Marshals Service and others in the search for Holland.
"We would like to thank the U.S. Marshals' Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Glynn County Police Department and the Glynn County Sheriff's Office for their hard work and assistance in this joint effort to bring Mr. Holland into custody," Smith said. "Because of this collaboration, the community remains a safe place to work and play. We all work together."
On Friday afternoon, a man standing outside the home where the shooting occurred identified himself as Landon's uncle. Landon underwent surgery and his condition is slowly improving, he said, requesting anonymity.
"He came out of surgery and he's all right," the man said. "It's day to day now. But I know he's gonna make it, and that's all you can ask for."
The man was not among those at the home during the shooting last week, he said. He does not know Holland or why he was there, he said.
"It's a sad situation all around," he said. "I'm just thankful he's going to be OK."
Holland is no stranger to local law enforcement. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to theft by taking and was sentenced to five years of probation, Glynn County Superior Court records show. Holland pleaded guilty in 2020 to possession of drugs and to giving false information to police, for which he again received probation, according to court records.
In 2017, Holland was arrested along with four others in connection with the armed robbery of a teenage boy who was lured into a pickup truck by a teenage girl's Facebook message, as reported by The News. The four other defendants all pleaded guilty later in 2017. Holland was to testify in court before the others entered their pleas, The News reported. The prosecutor later dropped the charges against Holland, Superior Court records show.
The investigation into the shooting continues. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Brunswick police detective Carla Futch at 912-279-2641, or Silent Witness hotline at 912-267-5516.
