6-year-old shot after ball rolls into man’s yard
Police in North Carolina are searching for a man accused of shooting a 6-year-old girl and her father after their basketball rolled into the suspect’s yard.
Two other victims, a woman and a man, were also injured.
Police said the suspect, 24-year-old Robert Louis Singletary, remains at large. Mr Singletary faces four counts of first-degree attempted murder.
Police have also charged the suspect with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Police in Gaston County first received a 911 call at 19:44 local time on Tuesday (00:44 BST on Wednesday) about the shooting.
Investigators later reported that a six-year-old child and her father were both seriously injured. An adult female was grazed by a bullet and a second adult male was shot, they said.
A neighbour told reporters that the shooting unfolded after a basketball rolled into the suspect’s yard.
“They were playing basketball, and a ball rolled into his yard. They went to go and get it. It was just crazy,” said Jonathan Robertson, who lives in the Gaston County neighbourhood. “We just never expected it in a million years. We never expected anybody would break a gun out amongst all those kids.”
Police said the suspect went inside his home and came out with a gun before he fired indiscriminately at neighbours. Mr William and his daughter were struck as parents were rushing to gather their children.
“The bullet came back and the bullet went in my cheek,” said the young girl, whose identity has not been made public.
She added that her father remains in hospital in Charlotte. He is being treated for a punctured lung and liver problems after he was shot in the back.
Police have issued warrants for Mr Singletary’s arrest, said Gaston County Police Chief, Stephen Zill, in a statement on Wednesday. Chief Zill added that “this sort of violence will not stand”. —BBC
