9-year-old Dallas girl asked to get snacks before she was shot, aunt testifies
DALLAS - A trial is underway in Dallas for a murder suspect who police said cut off his ankle monitor after allegedly killing a little girl during a rap feud.
Tyrese Simmons is accused of fatally shooting 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett in Old East Dallas in 2019.
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Police said he and another wannabe rapper were arguing over the lyrics the other had written about them in their songs.
Witnesses told police they broke up the argument before Simmons told the other man he would return to "air this place out," meaning he would return to shoot the place up.
But Simmons allegedly returned and fired shots into the wrong apartment, killing Bennett while she was playing.
Simmons surrendered a day after the shooting and was released on house arrest while awaiting trial.
But when that trial was about to start, police said he cut off his ankle monitor and fled. He was arrested in Oklahoma last summer.
Testimony in the rescheduled trial is now underway.
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This morning, Brandoniya's aunt became emotional talking about the 9-year-old and the day of the killing.
Ashton Elder said she heard the loud commotion outside, including threats to shoot up the house.
Elder said she and the children in the house took cover and when Brandoniya asked to get her snacks from the kitchen, gunfire erupted, and she was killed.
The girl's aunt said the day of the shooting was the day before the start of school.
She said Brandoniya was excited because it would have been her first day at "big girl school."
If convicted of murder, Simmons could face life in prison.
A second man, Devante Benton, was convicted of murder in the same case. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in the shooting.