Rapper G$ Lil Ronnie, his 5-year-old daughter killed in Forest Hill car wash shooting, family says
FOREST HILL, Texas - Forest Hill police say a man and a 5-year-old were killed when two men approached them at a car wash and opened fire on them.
Family members identified the victims as a North Texas rapper and his young daughter.
Forest Hill Double Shooting
What we know:
The shooting happened Monday just before 11 a.m. at the Slappy’s Express Car Wash on Forest Hill Drive.
Forest Hill police say a 30-year-old man and a 5-year-old girl were in a bay at the car wash when two men got out of a four-door Kia and shot them before getting away.
Officers who responded tried to save the two shooting victims, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
SKY 4 video shows dozens of evidence markers around a maroon Challenger.
Police say one of the suspects has been identified, and a warrant for their arrest was issued. However, the police department said it is not ready to release the suspect’s name.
Additional police officers were called in to help with crowd control because of the number of people who showed up at the scene after the shooting.
Police believe it was a targeted shooting.
Rapper G$ Lil Ronnie, his daughter killed in car wash shooting
What they're saying:
While police have not identified the victims, a family member at the scene told FOX 4 the victims were Chuckie Smith, also known as North Texas rapper G$ Lil Ronnie, and his 5-year-old daughter.
"He was a rapper. He didn’t bother nobody. He didn’t target nobody. He was a family man, and he was going around rapping, okay. Why would you target him?" said Stella Houston, the victim’s aunt.
Houston says the little girl just celebrated her birthday on Sunday.
"Cleaning the car out, and somebody came through shooting and killed him and the baby," she said. "And a baby. His baby. A baby!"
Becky Johnson lives across the street from the car wash. She heard multiple rounds of gunfire from inside her home.
"Six the first time, and then it was half a second, and I heard six more. Then a second later, I heard three," she recalled.
Johnson says she was startled by what she says sounded like back-to-back gunfire.
"I could see people fleeing for their cars," she said.
Johnson was watching customers take cover behind their vehicles.
The car wash sent out a statement, saying it’s working to assist police and will remain closed for at least the next two days.
What we don't know:
Police have not officially identified the victims or the suspects.
Police say they know the identity of one of the suspects, but not much is known about their second suspect.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Big picture view:
Forest Hill police say this marks the city’s fourth and fifth murder so far this year, compared to zero in 2024.
In February, two people were killed at a car dealership, and a woman in a separate incident was killed by a stray bullet in her backyard.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Forest Hill Police Department, MedStar officials, images from the SKY 4 helicopter and relatives who were interviewed at the crime scene.