Man accused of killing 5-year-old girl, injuring teen in Durham due in court Friday

This story was updated July 7, 2023.

The man accused of shooting two girls, one of them fatally, at an East Durham home Wednesday is due in court Friday morning.

Officers responded to a reported overdose on North Guthrie Avenue near Taylor Street around 1:45 p.m. and found 5-year-old Khloe Fennell and her 15-year-old cousin, Destiny Sidberry, with life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a hospital where Khloe was pronounced dead.

According to ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner, Destiny was babysitting Khloe when the pair was shot. Family members told ABC11 that Destiny dove in front of the bullets to protect her younger cousin.

Brian Deshan Luster, 42, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon in the shooting, the Durham Police Department announced Thursday.

According to ABC11, Luster is a cousin of Khloe’s mother, 33-year-old Brittany Dash.

Family members told ABC11 that Luster struggles with substance use disorder and was living with Dash as he sought help for his addiction.

Seven of the roughly 90 people shot in Durham this year, fatally or non-fatally, have been 6 to 15 years old, police statistics show. That makes Khloe the youngest child shot in Durham this year.

Shootings in Durham

Wednesday’s shooting was the second fatal shooting in the city in two days, after police found a man who had been killed on Robinhood Road in East Durham early Tuesday morning. His name has not been released, and police have announced no arrests.

As of June 24, 90 people had been shot in Durham this year, which was down from the previous two years, police statistics show.

Of those, 20 people were fatally shot, the same as 2022 and one fewer than 2021.

Although his office was not the arresting agency, Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead issued a statement Thursday on the shooting of the two girls, noting how he had attended several July Fourth community events..

“I saw children playing and cooling off in ‘kiddie pools’” or, having water balloon wars, and running through cool mist cooling stations to handle the scorching sun on a hot summer day,” Birkhead said. “I witnessed our community at its very core.”

“It pains me that less than 24 hours later, we are now experiencing and dealing with the unthinkable — another shooting that has taken such young life from our midst,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator J. Sokal at 919-560-4440 x29238 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Man accused of killing 5-year-old girl, injuring teen in Durham due in court Friday."