The arrest of a 24-year-old man in connection with the shooting of two adults and a juvenile in North Carolina earlier this week, according to the police.
According to WBTV and WSOC, Robert Louis Singletary is accused of shooting a 6-year-old girl and her parents after the family went to retrieve a basketball that had rolled into his yard. After a search, Singletary surrendered to police in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday afternoon, according to the Gaston County Police Department in North Carolina.
“I want to assure the citizens of Gaston County that this type of violence will not be tolerated,” said Gaston County Police Department Chief Stephen Zill.
The incident follows incidents of firearms violence in Missouri, New York, and Texas that were caused by commonplace errors.
Parents of a North Carolina child are shot
Tuesday night, according to the Gaston County Police Department, a gunshot occurred. Police said in a statement that 911 operators received a complaint about a man firing a gun outside homes in a neighborhood just south of Gastonia.
Jamie White, who had rushed to his daughter’s assistance, was shot in the back and remained hospitalized with serious injuries as of late Thursday, according to Gaston police. Kinsley White was struck by a gunshot in the left cheek and was treated and released, according to her family. The girl’s mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, was also treated and released after being struck by a bullet in the forearm.
According to authorities, Singletary also fired at another individual but missed.
Neighbors told WSOC-TV that several children were playing basketball when the ball drifted into the man’s yard. The man became incensed and began firing, according to the news source.
Since moving into the neighborhood, Singletary had shouted at the children on multiple occasions, according to Jonathan Robertson, a neighbor who spoke to The Associated Press. He stated that Singletary entered his residence, returned with a firearm, and began firing. “As soon as I saw him coming out firing, I yelled for everyone to drop to the ground and get inside,” he said.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Zill declined to comment on the shooting’s motive. He stated that police investigations were ongoing.
WBTV reported that the 6-year-old daughter was shot in the cheek and that her father was also shot. The mother was grazed, the news source reported.
A North Carolina man is charged with four counts of first-degree attempted homicide
Police say Singletary faces four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a lethal weapon with the intent to kill and inflict serious injury, and one count of firearm possession by a felon.
Zill stated, “We conducted a large-scale search for Mr. Singletary last night and have partnered with the United States Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force to assist us in our ongoing search.”
The Gaston County Police Department reported that Singletary was slated to appear in court in Hillsborough County, Florida on Friday in connection with his extradition back to North Carolina.
The District Attorney’s Office of Gaston County did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was initially unclear whether Singletary had an attorney.
North Carolina’s firearms violence follows those in Missouri, New York, and Texas.
Tuesday’s shooting follows a spate of shootings across the country in recent days that appear to have been prompted by mundane errors.
In Kansas City, Missouri, on April 13, an 84-year-old white man shot a black adolescent who had erroneously gone to the wrong residence to pick up his younger siblings, according to official reports.
Saturday, a 20-year-old woman was fatally shot by a homeowner in a rural town in upstate New York after the car she was riding in went to the incorrect address, according to authorities.
And on Tuesday, two teenage cheerleaders in Texas were shot after getting into the incorrect car after practice, according to officials.
