A 6-year-old North Carolina girl and her parents were shot on Tuesday night by a neighbor who opened fire fired on them after her basketball rolled into his yard. Kinsley White and other neighborhood children were having fun on their street on Tuesday night in Gaston County, North Carolina when her neighbor Robert Louis Singletary snapped over the stray ball.
Singletary, 24, was furious at the family and opened fire at them. Kinsley was wounded along with her mother Ashley Hilderbrand and father William White, according to WSOC-TV. White was critically injured attempting to protect his daughter and is in hospital after undergoing surgery.
Almost Dead
A group of kids was playing basketball when it entered the alleged shooter's yard, according to neighbors who spoke to the station. Singletary, the suspected shooter, allegedly grew angry and came running down the street in a rage and started firing from his gun.
He allegedly first shot Kinsley, who needed stitches on her face from bullet fragments, WSOC-TV reported.
A manhunt has been since been launched to find Singletary, who authorities claim is "armed and dangerous" and is believed to have fled the area.
According to police, her father was also injured and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday.
He apparently attempted to attract the gunshots toward him to protect his children before being shot in the back.
"Why did you shoot my daddy and me? Why did you shoot a kid's dad?" Kinsley asked in an interview with WSOC, appearing with stitches in her cheek.
"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?"
Unprovoked Attack
Kinsley's mother told WSOC that while she was outdoors, Singletary threatened her family. "He looked at my husband and my daughter and told them, 'I'm going to kill you,'" Ashley Hilderbrand said.
She claimed that the neighbor then chased them while firing. He allegedly continued shooting until his gun ran out of ammunition.
"I believe he would have got me and my husband too," said Carolyn Hilderbrand, Kinsley's grandmother. "He just run out of bullets."
During the interview with the station, Kinsley frequently expressed her concern for her father's well-being.
Singletary was new to the community and was known for getting angry with the local children, according to neighbors who talked with local media.
William hurried down to defend his daughter because he was aware of past supposed encounters with the new neighbor.
According to law enforcement officials, Singletary has had prior run-ins with the law. Singletary was charged with using a mini-sledgehammer to strike his girlfriend in the head in December 2022.
Later, he was released on bond in that case.
The manhunt for Singletary is still on. He is described as a black male, 6 feet 2 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Residents have been advised by law enforcement to stay inside.
He has been charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon intended to kill with the purpose of seriously injuring, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Additional charges are likely coming for the gunshots that entered nearby homes, according to police.
