BREAKING UPDATE: Suspect arrested in Florida after shooting of 6-year-old girl and father in North Carolina — fundraiser launched for family as father remains in hospital

UPDATE: An arrest has been made in the shooting of a six-year-old girl and her father

"Today, Thursday April 20th, 2023, at about 4:45pm, the Gaston County Police were notified by the Hillsboorough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida that the suspect of Tuesday's shooting on April Drive was in custody. The suspect, 24-year old Robert Louis Singletary, turned himself in. Mr. Singletary did not have any identification with him. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office processed Mr. Singletary and confirmed his identity shortly before 7pm this evening. He is scheduled to have a court appearance in Hillsborough County on Friday, April 21, in reference to extradition back to Gaston County, North Carolina," a police statement read.



Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been launched for the victims of the shooting. The fundraiser is looking to raise money for medical bills and family support as the father remains in the hospital.

Original story follows.

A six-year-old girl in Gaston County, North Carolina, has been left with bullet fragments in her cheek after her neighbor, Robert Louis Singletary, opened fire on her and her parents over a stray basketball. 

Singletary allegedly became enraged and began firing at the children and parents, striking or grazing them with bullets. 

Kinsley White, the young girl injured in the shooting, was interviewed by local news station WSOC, where she asked, "Why did you shoot my daddy and me? Why did you shoot a kid's dad?"

Singletary remains on the run, and police have described him as "armed and dangerous." 

Kinsley and her father, William White, were both injured in the shooting. William was attempting to distract Singletary so that other children could get away when he was struck in the back by a bullet and remains in the hospital. 

Kinsley's mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, also heard Singletary make a threat to her family members and then chased them while shooting. He allegedly kept firing until his gun had run out of bullets.

Neighbors who spoke with local media outlets described Singletary as new to the neighborhood and known for getting upset with local children. William had become aware of other alleged run-ins with Singletary, which is why he ran down to protect his daughter.

According to law enforcement officials, this is not Singletary's first run-in with the law. In December 2022, he was accused of hitting his girlfriend in the head with a mini-sledgehammer and was later let out on bond for that case.

Singletary has been 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.

Additional chares are likely because shots entered neighbors' homes, police said. District Attorney Travis Page has vowed to be "loud and clear" when the case comes to court, and Ashley Hilderbrand made a plea for Singletary to turn himself in, saying, "There was no sense in what you did."