Florida man who shot girl for sneaking ball into his backyard arrested in Florida

A man accused of shooting a family in North Carolina was arrested Thursday in Tampa, Florida. He is Robert Louis Singletary, who has a history of violence. According to the Gaston County Police Department in North Carolina, Singletary shot a minor girl who´s ball rolled over the boundary between their houses and into the detainee's yard.

Signletary reportedly became enraged, annoyed by the children playing in the area, and opened fire with a gun. When fired, bullet shrapnel wounded an underage girl in the cheek. The girl's father, William White, was also wounded with a gunshot wound to the back when he stepped between the shooter and his daughter. The girl's mother also suffered a bullet graze wound.

According to witnesses, the enraged Singletary ran across the street shooting at neighbors in the area. The victims did not know him at all, according to statements made to the press. After emptying his magazine, the shooter fled. He then drove nearly 560 miles to Tampa, Florida, where he turned himself in at a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Station. He is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or cause serious injury and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Violent background

This is not the first time Robert Louis Singletary has been arrested for violent crimes. In December 2022, the Gaston County Police Department received calls from Singletary´s partner. The young woman accused him of hitting her with a construction hammer. After assaulting her, Singletary allegedly prevented her from leaving the house. Eventually, the 21-year-old woman was transported to a hospital and was able to contact law enforcement. Singletary was then arrested five days later and charged with assault with intent to cause serious injury, kidnapping and threats.

In 2016, Robert Louis Singletary was arrested, also for assaulting someone with a weapon. He was convicted and served a prison sentence until his release in 2020.