On the morning of September 17, 2024, Garland police went to an apartment in the 700 block of Broadway Commons for a reported domestic disturbance. Officers found the front door had been forcibly opened and two small children inside. While entering, they heard gunfire from a back bedroom and took cover before securing the children’s safety.

A short time later, 35-year-old Brodrick Earl Kennedy emerged from the bedroom and surrendered. Inside, officers found two women with gunshot wounds. One victim, 38-year-old Donnielle Lashay Kennedy (also spelled Donnielle Lashay Kennedy in some reports), was pronounced dead at the scene. The second victim, her mother 58-year-old Shirley Jean Phillips, was taken to a hospital and later died of her injuries. The children were unharmed and released to extended family.

Brodrick Kennedy was arrested at the scene and charged with capital murder; he is being held at the Garland Detention Center without bond. The motive remains under investigation. If anyone has information about Donnielle Kennedy, her family, or the events at that apartment, please share what you know.