Dallas rapper Lul Reese has been identified as the suspect who killed 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett while shooting at a rival rapper in an Old East Dallas apartment. The rapper, whose real name is Tyrese Simmons, 19, turned himself in to police, officials announced at a news conference on Thursday.
Brandoniya was shot in the head as she sat on a sofa in an apartment at the Roseland Townhomes. She had just gotten her nails done and was waiting for the nail polish to dry when she was shot, police said. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Simmons allegedly targeted a rival rapper when he fired into an apartment next door. But he missed and the bullet traveled through the wall and struck Brandoniya.
Police say Reese and the rival rapper were beefing over a diss record.
Brandoniya’s family spent the day screaming and crying outside the apartment where the little girl died.
“As adults, as parents as police officers, we’re supposed to make them safe, as community leaders, we’re supposed to make them safe,” said Dallas Police Department Maj. Danny Williams. “She was sitting in her house, she felt safe… she was only 9-years-old.”
