A 6-year-old who was shot over a basketball along with her Parents
Police are looking for a gunman after a 6-year-old girl and her parents were shot Tuesday night in Gaston County. Channel 9′s Ken Lemon learned it all happened over a basketball that rolled into the suspect’s yard.
The shooting happened in the area of April Drive and Grier Street, which is in a neighborhood south of Gastonia.
Neighbors said several young children were playing basketball when the ball rolled down the street and into Robert Singletary’s yard. They said Singletary got mad and ran down the street, firing a gun at a neighbor.
They said Singletary then came back, shooting at William White as White ran with his 6-year-old daughter, Kinsley.
Kinsley and her father were seriously hurt. Her mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, was grazed by a bullet and is back home now, but William White is still in the hospital.
“We don’t even know the man,” Kinsley said.
Police are now looking for Singletary, 24, who is believed to be armed.
A Channel 9 crew saw several entrances to the neighborhood blocked off as police investigated Tuesday night. The neighborhood remained sealed off Wednesday morning.
The biggest question that still remains is why.
Kinsley, who has stitches from bullet fragments in her cheek, is in a position no child should be in. She’s worried about her father, who suffered the most serious injuries while he was trying to protect her. She spoke to Lemon while holding her grandfather’s hand, with sadness in her eyes and the daunting question on her mind.
“Why did you shoot my daddy and me? Why did you shoot a kid’s dad?” Kinsley asked.
Neighbors said Singletary was new to the area and often got angry with children in the neighborhood.
William White became worried about his 6-year-old daughter just before Tuesday’s shooting and ran down to protect her. Police said another man was shot at during the incident but was not hurt.The biggest question that still remains is why.
Kinsley, who has stitches from bullet fragments in her cheek, is in a position no child should be in. She’s worried about her father, who suffered the most serious injuries while he was trying to protect her. She spoke to Lemon while holding her grandfather’s hand, with sadness in her eyes and the daunting question on her mind.
Why did you shoot my daddy and me? Why did you shoot a kid’s dad?” Kinsley asked.
Neighbors said Singletary was new to the area and often got angry with children in the neighborhood.
William White became worried about his 6-year-old daughter just before Tuesday’s shooting and ran down to protect her. Police said another man was shot at during the incident but was not hurt.
Kinsley’s mother told Lemon she was outside too, and said she heard Singletary make a threat.
“He looked at my husband and my daughter and told them, ‘I’m going to kill you,’” Ashley Hilderbrand said.
Hilderbrand said Singletary chased them while shooting, and Kinsley’s father tried to draw gunfire toward him and away from the children. He was shot in the back in his front yard.
Hilderbrand said Singletary kept shooting, missing repeatedly until he was out of bullets.
“I believe he would have got me and my husband too,” said Carolyn Hilderbrand, Kinsley’s grandmother. “He just run out of bullets.”
On Wednesday, Lemon was in the neighborhood as police performed a tactical search of Singletary’s home. They also went door to door in the community asking if neighbors had seen him.
Authorities do not know if Singletary is on foot or in a vehicle. He’s described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall with brown eyes and black hair. He weighs about 223 pounds.
Investigators told residents to stay indoors and call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
Singletary was previously accused of hitting his 21-year-old girlfriend in the head with a mini-sledgehammer in December 2022. He was out on bond for that case.
Gaston County police said in Tuesday’s incident, Singletary is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon. More charges are likely because of the shots fired into neighbors’ homes.
“We’ll be damn sure to be loud and clear when this case comes to court,” said District Attorney Travis Page.
Police said they have help from U.S. Marshals in the search for Singletary.
“Just please turn yourself in. There was no sense in what you did,” said Ashley Hilderbrand.
This is a developing story Check back for updates.