Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
'Cheer' Star Cassadee Dunlap's Dad Shot After Entering Wrong Apartment
Police say Ronald Dunlap had been out drinking with his nephew when he tried to enter the wrong apartment in his Little Rock building and was shot by the resident.
“Cheer” star Cassadee Dunlap’s father remains hospitalized after he was shot while trying to enter the wrong apartment in his building early on Saturday morning.
Little Rock Police found Ronald Dunlap, 49, face down on the ground in a residence in the Canopy Apartments just after 3:00 a.m. Saturday after receiving a call from Dunlap’s nephew, who told authorities that he believed his uncle had been shot after accidentally walking into the wrong apartment, local station KATV reports.
Ronald Dunlap reportedly lived in the apartment 15C in the building but had been trying to enter apartment 12D.
The resident of 12D, Joshua Womack, told KARK he woke up around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of someone trying to break into the apartment.
“I heard a big, loud thud through the front door,” he said. “The door was actually knocked off the hinges. With that, he ended up bum-rushing it. It wasn’t like an accidental walk in.”
Womack reportedly told police he grabbed his gun and fired off approximately five to six rounds after finding Ronald Dunlap in his kitchen.
Ronald Dunlap was rushed to a local hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. A family member told KARK he is now stable and expected to survive the injuries.
Police told TMZ that Ronald Dunlap had been out drinking with his nephew before the shooting.
The incident is still under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.
Oxygen.com reached out to police for additional information, but did not receive an immediate response.
Ronald’s daughter, Cassadee Dunlap, starred in the second season of the Netflix series “Cheer,” which follows the competitive Navarro, Texas cheerleading team. She also previously appeared in TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras.”
Cassadee has not publicly commented on her father’s shooting and is reportedly currently working as a part-time cheerleading coach at the University of Arkansas, according to The New York Post.
She told KARK earlier this year it had been an honor to be on the Navarro Junior College team and featured in the popular Netflix series.
“Being a part of it, it’s just so surreal,” she said at the time. “I want to be the best version of myself, not only for me, but for everyone else around me.”
The “Cheer” cast has had a difficult year. In July, former “Cheer” star Jerry Harris was sentenced to 12 years in a federal prison for soliciting sex with minors.
Harris was arrested in 2020 after authorities accused him of using his success to coerce underage teen boys to send explicit photos and videos of themselves to him.
He pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor in February.
