A A manhunt is underway for a suspect wanted on attempted murder and other charges after police say he shot a 6-year-old girl and her parents when a basketball rolled onto their lawn at North Carolina on Tuesday.
The Gaston County Police Department said Robert Singletary, 24, of Gastonia, North Carolina, is wanted on four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent of killing and causing serious injury and a. count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
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Robert Singletary
Gaston County Police Department
Police said around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to a neighborhood for reports of a man shooting outside his home. Investigators soon learned that the alleged shooter was Singletary. Arrest warrants were obtained overnight, but as of Thursday morning, Singletary is still at large.
Kinsley White was the 6-year-old girl who was shot, and her family members told Queen City News that the shooting happened because one of her neighbors, apparently Singletary, was upset that a basketball rolled into her yard .
“He came out with a gun; started shooting,” White said. “I hope my dad’s OK.”
The local news outlet said Kinsley’s father, William White, was shot multiple times while trying to protect his daughter, and witnesses said the gunman continued firing even after he hit the ground
In an update Wednesday, police said one adult victim, believed to be William, remains hospitalized, while Kinsley, who was hit, as well as a second adult who was grazed by a bullet, were treated and released. It’s unclear where the fourth count of attempted first-degree murder came from.
Kinsley was shot in the left side of the cheek. “It stuck to her cheek; it didn’t all go through her mouth. How it stayed the way it did is … God was with her,” Ashley Hilderbrand, Kinsley’s mother, told reporters.
Kinsley, who wore scars on his cheek from stitches to heal his face where the bullet fragments struck, explained the questions that remain in his mind.
“Why did you shoot me and my father?” he asked, according to WSOC. “Why did you shoot a boy’s father?”
Singletary was apparently new to the area and often got angry with the neighborhood kids. In December, Singletary was accused of assaulting his 21-year-old girlfriend with a mini hammer. Police said Singletary kept the victim inside his apartment and did not allow him to leave for more than two hours.
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“I want to say to the people of Gaston County: This type of violence will not stand. We conducted a large-scale search overnight for Mr. Singletary and partnered with the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force to help us as you continue to search,” said Gaston County Police Chief Stephen Zill.
“My number one priority as chief is to make sure each and every one of our citizens is safe. Every person in every part of our county deserves an equal opportunity, and it’s our priority to make that happen.”
Gaston County is located west of Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city.
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