A manhunt is underway near Charlotte, North Carolina, for a man who allegedly shot his 6-year-old neighbour and her father when a basketball tumbled into his yard.
According to Gaston County Police, Robert Louis Singletary, 24, should be considered armed and dangerous. His height is 6 feet 2 inches, his weight is approximately 223 pounds, and he has brown eyes and black hair.
The incident began after children were “playing basketball, and a ball had rolled down that way and into the yard, and they went to get it,” according to CNN affiliate WBTV’s Jonathan Robertson.
“We never anticipated that someone would bring out a gun among all those children,” he said. “That was absolutely ridiculous.”
The 6-year-old girl told WBTV that she was wounded in the cheek and described her perception of what transpired.
She stated, “I was unable to get inside in time, so he shot my father in the back.”
Due to the ongoing investigation, police would not corroborate what prompted the Tuesday night shooting in Gastonia.
A number of young people have been shot this week after seemingly being in the wrong place at the wrong time, including two teen cheerleaders mistakenly approaching someone else’s vehicle in a Texas grocery store parking lot, a 16-year-old who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, and a 20-year-old who turned down the wrong New York driveway.
According to the Small Arms Survey, the shootings reflect the consequences of a country with more civilian firearms than people, as well as the toxic stew of fear, paranoia, and mistrust that influences so many and leads to violence.
The father, identified by his family as William White, was shot in Gaston County and remains hospitalised, according to a statement released by police chief Stephen Zill on Wednesday evening.
Police reported that the youngster and a second adult who were struck by a bullet have been treated and released. According to a police news release, a second individual was also shot at, but was not injured.
Debbie Wykle White, White’s mother, told CNN via text message, “He’s just processing things day by day.” “He’s in a lot of agony and he’s worried about his family because (the suspect) is on the run and he can’t protect his wife and children while he’s in the hospital.”
Police say they have obtained arrest warrants for Singletary on four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a lethal weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
“I want the residents of Gaston County to know that this type of violence will not be tolerated,” Zill said, adding that the US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force is assisting in the search for Singletary.
Police said in a statement that Singletary was charged with assault and kidnapping in December for allegedly attacking his fiancée with a mini-sledgehammer and keeping her inside his flat for over two hours.
Jennifer Davis, the registrar of the Gaston County Superior Court, stated that he has not yet entered a plea to the charges. Records indicate that Singletary was released on a $250,000 surety on December 15.
CNN has reached out to Cameron Harrison, his defence attorney, for comment.
