9-year-old girl shot, killed in Dallas after suspect fires into wrong apartment
DALLAS (CNN) — A social media rivalry between two Dallas rappers led to a shooting that left a 9-year-old girl dead days before school started, police said.
Brandoniya Bennett was struck in the head by a bullet on Wednesday as she sat on a couch inside an apartment building in the Old East Dallas section just northeast of downtown.
Dallas police say they arrived at about 5:30 p.m. and found the girl suffering from a gunshot wound.
They performed CPR and she was taken to a nearby hospital but she didn’t survive.
The suspect, Tyrese Simmons, 19, turned himself in to police on Thursday and now faces a capital murder charge, according to CNN.
Simmons allegedly went to an apartment complex to confront a rival rapper after the two exchanged disparaging comments about one another on social media, according to CNN.
When the tenant refused to come out of his apartment, Simmons went around to the back of the apartment, according to CNN.
Simmons then fired a shot into the wrong apartment, striking the girl, according to CNN.
Bridgette Daniels was walking to the mailbox when she heard gunshots.
“I just came over as soon as I could,” Daniels said.
Lakeitha Washington, who was visibly shaking, said she is best friends with the 9-year-old victim’s mother.
“I was praying for better news, this is a baby, this is crazy, this is beyond crazy,” Washington said.
Dallas Police Department Sgt. Warren Mitchell said the death of the child was difficult for responding officers.
“I can’t hardly imagine the toll this has taken on the family, but even the officers that have to respond to scenes like this. Its a scene that we never want to respond to,” Mitchell said.
After the shooting Washington said she didn’t feel safe living in the area with her children.
“I don’t feel safe at all. I wish me and my kids could actually go somewhere else to live. I don’t feel safe over here,” Washington said.
“As adults, as parents as police officers, we’re supposed to make them safe, as community leaders, we’re supposed to make them safe,” Dallas Police Department Maj. Danny Williams told the affiliate. “She was sitting in her house, she felt safe … she was only 9-years-old.”
Simmons’ bail was set at $500,000, according to CNN.
Information on his attorney was not immediately available.