GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The suspect Gaston County Police in North Carolina say is accused of shooting and injuring a man and child earlier this week has turned himself in nearly 600 miles away from home.
In a news release Thursday, the department said 24-year-old Robert Louis Singletary surrendered shortly before 5 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida. Gaston County Police said he didn't have any identification on him, but his identity was confirmed shortly before 7 p.m.
Singletary waived his extradition hearing in Florida on Friday, April 21. Gaston County officials say they are working with law enforcement officials to return Singletary to North Carolina. They are hoping to have his first appearance court hearing sometime this week.
Gaston County Police said Singletary reportedly took aim at four people on Tuesday, April 18 along Grier Street, just south of the city of Gastonia: two men, a woman, and a child. One of the men was seriously wounded and remains in a hospital in Charlotte, while his daughter was released after treatment. The other man was not hit, and the woman was grazed by a bullet.
Ashley Hildebrand identified herself to WCNC Charlotte as the woman grazed by the gunfire, also confirming her husband and daughter were the victims that needed treatment. She urged Singletary to turn himself in and noted her daughter had a bullet fragment in her cheek.
While Singletary is in custody, the investigation is still ongoing. Tips can be shared with police at 704-866-3320 or Crimestoppers at 704-861-8000.