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6-year-old girl, parents shot after basketball rolls into man's North Carolina yard

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A North Carolina 6-year-old and her parents were shot Tuesday night by an angry neighbor who fired at them after a basketball rolled into his yard, a report said.

Kinsley White was wounded along with her mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, and father, William White, when a gunman opened fire around 8 p.m. in Gaston County after he became enraged about the bouncing ball, according to WSOC-TV.

William White was critically injured attempting to protect his daughter.

Neighbors told the station a group of kids was playing basketball when the ball bounced into the alleged gunman’s yard.

Suspected shooter Robert Louis Singletary grew angry and ran down the street as he fired at a neighbor, they reportedly said.

Then he came back and began shooting at the family, including the young daughter, who needed stitches on her face from bullet fragments, WSOC-TV reported.

Her father was also hit, and was still in the hospital Wednesday, police said.

Kinsley White was wounded along with her mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, and father, William White. WSOC-TV 9
The gunman opened fire on the family after a ball went into his yard. WSOC-TV 9

He reportedly tried to draw gunfire toward him to keep his kids safe before he was struck in the back.

“We don’t even know the man,” Kinsley told the station, adding, “Why did you shoot my daddy and me? Why did you shoot a kid’s dad?”

Hilderbrand was grazed by a bullet and is recovering at home with her daughter, WSOC-TV reported.

The alleged shooter, Robert Louis Singletary, ran down the street as he fired at his neighbors. @kenlemonWSOC9/Twitter

Neighbors told the station that Singletary allegedly kept shooting until he was out of bullets.

“He looked at my husband and my daughter and told them, ‘I’m going to kill you,’” Hilderbrand told the station.

Authorities said Singletary, 24, is still on the lam.

Children were playing basketball before the incident escalated. WSOC-TV 9
The young girl needed stitches on her face from bullet fragments. WSOC-TV 9

He’s been charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, Gaston County police said.

The department is seeking the public’s help in locating and arresting the fugitive, offering a $1,000 reward.

“I want to say to the people of Gaston County — this sort of violence will not stand,” Police Chief Stephen Zill said in a statement, noting the US Marshals Service is helping in the search for Singletary.

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Fernande Dalal

Update: 2024-09-01