Robert Louis Singletary has turned himself in for shooting at a 6-year-old whose basketball rolled into his yard. Little Kinsley White and her friends went after a ball that went into Singletary’s yard on Tuesday in North Carolina. And irate that the little children had come after the ball, Singletary brought out his gun and began shooting at them and their parents who came after them, CNN reports.
After reportedly discharging all his bullets in the street, Singletary dropped his gun and fled. Bullet fragments hit Kinsley to the left of her face and the wound had to be sutured. Her father, William White, was shot in the back while trying to distract Singletary’s attention from the kids. Kinsley’s mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, and some other parents were also hit by bullet fragments as they scampered for safety.
The police launched a manhunt for Singletary, saying he was armed and dangerous. He eventually turned himself in in Hillsborough County, Florida, where the police processed him for several hours before confirming his identity and story. He stands 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.
Neighbors said Singletary, 24, seemed to hate children and had often complained when children played and made noise near his Gaston property. He shouted at kids who crossed to his yard and had reported to at least one parent that the noise of children disturbed him and that children should keep off his property. Witnesses said he parked in the neighborhood house a few months ago.
Singletary has been accused twice of attacking people with dangerous weapons in the last few years. In December, his girlfriend reported to the police that he hit the back of her head with a mini sledgehammer. And that he refused to let her go for two hours until she cleaned up the evidence. Gaston County Superior Court clerk Jennifer Davis said he was released on a $250,000 bond and that the case is still pending.
In 2016, Singletary was also convicted of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury on Halloween. He has not entered a plea and the case has not been struck out yet. A GoFundMe account created to raise money for Kinsley White and her family has raised more than $11,000 as of Thursday night.