Six-year-old shot after basketball rolls into North Carolina man's yard

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Police photo of the suspect, Robert SingletaryImage source, Gaston County Police Department
Image caption,
Police said they have conducted an overnight search for suspect Robert Louis Singletary, who remains at large

A North Carolina man accused of shooting a six-year-old girl and her father after a basketball rolled into his yard has been arrested in Florida.

Police say Robert Louis Singletary, 24, turned himself in to authorities in Tampa on Thursday evening after a two-day manhunt.

Two other victims, a woman and a man, were also injured.

Mr Singletary faces four counts of first-degree attempted murder.

Police will also charge 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.

The suspect was previously known to police for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with a sledgehammer in December.

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.

Media caption,

Watch: Witness describes the moment a gun was pulled

A neighbour told reporters that the shooting had 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 six-year-old, who is not being named by the BBC because of her age.

She added that her father remained in hospital in Charlotte. He is being treated for a punctured lung and liver problems after he was shot in the back.

Gaston County Police Chief Stephen Zill said on Wednesday that "this sort of violence will not stand".

The shooting is the latest in a string of gun violence incidents across the US involving young Americans who are reported to have mistakenly approached the wrong person or home:

  • In Texas, 18-year-old cheerleader Payton Washington was shot and seriously injured on Tuesday after she mistakenly tried to enter the wrong vehicle in a parking lot near Austin, Texas
  • In New York state, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed on Saturday after a friend drove their car down the wrong driveway
  • Last Thursday in Missouri, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in the head and arm when he rang the doorbell at the wrong address.

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