North Texas rapper Lil Ronnie and 5-year-old daughter killed at Forest Hill car wash, family says
Fort Worth rapper Lil Ronnie and his 5-year-old daughter were fatally shot at a car wash late Monday morning, family and friends said.
Forest Hill police responded to Slappy's Car Wash on Forest Hill Drive just north of I-20 just before 11 a.m.
One woman at the scene named Stella Houston told reporters that the victims were her nephew and his daughter, who celebrated her 5th birthday on Sunday. Friends and family identified the man as a Fort Worth rapper known as Lil Ronnie.
One witness told a CBS News Texas photojournalist that they heard 20 to 30 gunshots.
Police said the suspects are described as two Black males wearing blue jeans and grey sweaters. Forest Hill police said the suspects exited a white, four-door Kia and approached the victim's vehicle, which was stationary in a bay at the car wash. The suspects opened fire and fled the area.
A suspect has been identified and a warrant issued for capital murder, police said; however, the department is not releasing suspect names as the investigation is ongoing.
Video from CBS News Texas chopper showed dozens of evidence markers on the ground and a heavy police presence around the car wash. Fort Worth, Everman and Mansfield officers were on the scene in addition to Forest Hill PD.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Slappy's car wash said it would be closed for at least two days to assist the investigation.
"We are shocked, appalled and deeply troubled by the senseless and violent events that occurred today," the statement said in part.
This is the fourth and fifth reported homicide in the Forest Hill this year. There were zero last year, police said.
Late last month, a former employee of an auto sales business in Forest Hill was charged with murder following a shooting at the company that resulted in two deaths and one injury.
Days later, a 36-year-old Forest Hill mother was killed by "stray bullets" in her backyard. Family members said she was by the fire pit when a stray bullet came through the fence and struck her.
The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, Forest Hill police said, with the assistance of the Forest Hill Criminal Division, Fort Worth Police Department, Everman Police Department, Kennedale Police Department and Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
