GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities have brought a shooting suspect back to North Carolina after he was arrested in Florida.
Robert Singletary, 24, was picked up by Gaston County Police Department officials at the Hillsborough County jail on Sunday morning. He is now being held in Gaston County jail without bond. His first appearance court hearing is scheduled for May 2.
Singletary is accused of shooting three people on Tuesday, April 18 along Grier Street, just south of the city of Gastonia: a man, a woman, and a six-year-old girl. The man was seriously wounded while his daughter was released after treatment. The woman was grazed by a bullet.
Singletary turned himself in to the police in Tampa, Florida on April 20.
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.
According to neighbors, it all stemmed from kids playing, and a basketball rolling into the suspect's yard, though police haven't confirmed those details, citing the ongoing investigation.
“It was very scary," Hilderbrand said. "My daughter actually got to come home last night. She just had a bullet fragment in her cheek. Still, scary, but my husband, he’s still in the hospital. He’s in trauma. I’m doing the best I can. I just wish they’d catch this guy.”
Police say Singletary shot at another man, but he was not injured.
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.