A dallas based rapper upset over a rival’s diss track opened fire on the wrong apartment, killing a 9-year-old girl instead of his intended target, police said.
Tyrese Simmons, 19, surrendered to cops late Thursday for the shooting death of Brandoniya Bennett, who died after being gunned down Wednesday as she sat inside her Old East Dallas apartment, police said.
Brandoniya Bennett, 9, was killed Wednesday afternoon while she was sitting on a couch in her family’s apartment at the Roseland Townhomes off of Munger Avenue.
Bennett just had her nails done and was simply sitting on her couch when she was stuck by a bullet in the head.
Simmons allegedly fired into the unit next door to where his intended target sought cover.
“When the person refused to come out of the apartment, Simmons circled around to the back of the apartment complex and opened fire on the wrong apartment, fatally striking Brandoniya who was inside at the time,” Dallas police said in a statement.
Investigators later learned that Simmons and his intended target, an unnamed rapper who lived next door, traded barbs on social media and on diss tracks, KTVT reports.
Dallas police responding to a shooting call around 5:30 p.m. on Sept 14, at the Roseland Townhomes and found little Brandoniya Bennett, 9, with a gunshot wound to the head
Witnesses told police that they had earlier broke up a recent squabble between the two, prompting Simmons to allegedly threaten that he intended to return to the building and “air this place out,” KDFW reports.
The victim, who just got her nails done ahead of the start of the new school year, had no connection to either man, both of whom are suspected to be gang members, according to the station.
With help from witnesses and social media, detectives on Thursday identified 19-year-old Tyrese Simmons as the accused gunman. Simmons turned himself into police shortly after being identified as a suspect Thursday afternoon.
“[Kids] don’t think about safety because as adults, as parents, as police officers, we’re supposed to make them safe,” an emotional Dallas Police Maj. Danny Williams told reporters on Thursday prior to Simmons turning himself in.
At least three people have been killed at the city-run apartment complex in the little over a month, prompting 24-hour police patrols for the foreseeable future, according to KTVT.
Simmons, who has been charged with capital murder, remained held on $500,000 bond Friday.
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