North Carolina dad shot by neighbor over basketball says he thought he would die
Jamie White, Ashley Hilderbrand and their 6-year-old daughter Kinsley White were struck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}North Carolina father Jamie White said he thought he was going to die after his neighbor shot him and his 6-year-old daughter over a basketball that had rolled into the man's yard, according to a local report.
"I was worried about my babies," White told the Gaston Gazette. "I was already hit. I was losing breath. I was on fire. I honestly didn't think I was going to make it."
The violence erupted April 18 after a basketball that his daughter and some other children were playing with rolled into Robert Louis Singletary's yard near Gastonia – a city of roughly 80,000 people west of Charlotte.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Singletary confronted the other neighbors and began arguing with one of the men when he suddenly went inside his house to retrieve a revolver.
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Robert Singletary is accused of opening fire on his neighbors after a basketball rolled into his yard, striking 6-year-old Kinsley White, her father, Jamie White, and her mother, Ashley Hilderbrand. (Kara Fohner via AP/Gastonia City Police Department)
"He comes back out the door running, firing at that man and his kids," White said. "At that point, I took off. My youngin' was down the road too. My little girl and about 10, 12 other kids were down there. They were all stunned."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Moments earlier, White had been grilling steaks while the children played in the street and the eruption of rage seemed to come out of nowhere, White said.
He told Singletary to stop shooting because of the children. Singletary allegedly shifted his focus to the father.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You White? I don't even like White people. I'm going to shoot your a--," Singletary allegedly seethed before pointing the revolver directly at White and his daughter.
Ashley Hilderbrand and Jamie White, along with their 6-year-old daughter, Kinsley White, were wounded when a neighbor opened fire after a basketball rolled into his yard. (White family)
Kinsley was standing directly in front of her dad. "He's pointing straight at my daughter," White recalled.
He tried to shield her and a bullet tore through his lung and liver and bullet fragments lodged in his daughter's cheek. A bullet also grazed his wife's elbow.
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White, a supervisor at a chemical plant, was recovering at home Monday after the harrowing ordeal and was still in intense pain. But, he added, he felt lucky to be alive.
Kinsley White, 6, of Gaston, North Carolina, holding her grandfather's hand as she points to a bullet wound. Her neighbor allegedly opened fire after a basketball rolled into his yard. (Kara Fohner/The Gaston Gazette via AP)
Singletary fled the scene and was arrested two days later in Florida on charges of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and a gun charge.
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He was out on $250,000 unsecured bond, accused of bashing his girlfriend in the head with a sledgehammer and holding her captive for two hours.
An unsecured bond doesn't require any cash or collateral – only a promise to return to court.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Robert Singletary, 24, allegedly shot three people after a basketball rolled into his yard in North Carolina. (Gaston County Police Department)
"None of this would have happened if the judicial system would have done their job," White said.
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Since returning home, Kinsley has been caring for her father. "Poor baby, she's constantly worried about me," White said. "She comes and checks on me every 15 minutes."