Robert Louis Singletary, the suspect accused of shooting a 6-year-old neighbour and her parents in North Carolina after a basketball rolled into his yard, was apprehended and is in custody in Hillsborough County, Florida, according to Gaston County, North Carolina, spokesperson Adam J. Gaub.
Who is Robert Louis Singletary?
On Thursday, April 20, North Carolina man Robert Louis Singletary turned himself in after a two-day search. Singletary is the prime accused in the non-fatal shooting of a 6-year-old girl Kinsley White and her parents after they entered his backyard to retrieve a basketball. He is facing four counts of first-degree attempted murder.
As per the Reports, Robert Louis Singletary has a history of violent crime. The suspect was previously charged for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with a sledgehammer in December 2022. He currently remains under police custody.
Recent allegations against Robert Louis Singletary
In an interview with WBTV, a witness identified as Jonathan Robertson described the chain of events. He said the children were playing basketball in the street before the ball rolled into John Louis Singletary’s property.
At the time, the 6-year-old victim was supposedly not around the basketball game and was riding her bicycle, while her parents were having a barbecue.
After the children went to retrieve the ball, the suspect reportedly shouted at them. Subsequently, the 6-year-old shooting victim’s father arrived at the scene to confront Singletary about the matter. Afterward, Singletary allegedly entered his home and re-emerged armed with a pistol.
Witnesses claim that he then began firing at the 6-year-old and her parents. Singletary is accused of subsequently running up and down the street, firing brazenly at neighbors before running out of bullets.
Suspect Shot Kinsley White
Kinsley White was reportedly injured in the cheek by a bullet fragment. Her mother, Ashley Hildebrand, suffered a grazing bullet wound to the elbow, while her father, William James White, was shot in the back. The father suffered injuries to his liver and his lung.
Kinsley White said of the incident:
“He came out with a gun, he started shooting. Hope my daddy is OK.”
She said in a separate interview:
“The bullet came back and the bullet went in my cheek.”
Jonathan Robertson said of the shooting:
“We just never expected it in a million years. We never expected anybody would break a gun out amongst all those kids.”
The Suspect Fled away from the Scene
Robert Louis Singletary fled the area soon after. During the search for him, authorities described him as “Armed and dangerous.” On Thursday, two days after the shooting, he surrendered without incident. Stephen Zill, Chief of the Gaston County Police Department, condemned the suspect’s actions. He said:
“I want to say to the people of Gaston County this sort of violence will not stand.”
As per the Reports, witnesses said that Robert Louis Singletary had lived in the area for less than a month before the incident. He was known to admonish children over inconsequential matters.
Neighbors say the suspect had yelled at children before
Robertson, who lives across the street, and another neighbour said Singletary got a “look in his eyes” and started walking in the direction of other parents and kids and began shooting.
After moving into his home a few weeks ago, Singletary reportedly began frequently yelling at children for playing in his yard, according to several neighbors who were present at the scene and spoke to CNN.
They said he acted in a way that suggested he “hated children” in the neighborhood, frequently became irate when kids played in and ran through his yard, and had several conflicts with both youngsters and their parents.
An unnamed neighbor informed CNN that he had complained to her about the youngsters running through his garden before the tragedy occurred. She claimed she let him know her grandson was inside and he departed after hearing that.
The parent Singletary confronted on Tuesday fled the scene of the gunshot unharmed, according to the neighbors.
Previous History of Singletary
Singletary has a criminal history, online records show. He was convicted in 2017 of felonious assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury, and released from prison on parole in September 2020, per the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
In December 2022 he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend with a mini-sledgehammer and making her clean up the evidence before she could leave. Singletary was released on a $250,000 bond that same month.
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