Ladarius Brownlee, a Northlake, Texas TikTok creator known online as “Deno,” pleaded guilty in February 2025 and was sentenced to ten years of probation by a Denton County judge after shooting his girlfriend and social media partner, Seyeddah “Zahra” Hashemi, in the face on July 5, 2024.1Audacy KRLD. Northlake TikTok Star Pleads Guilty in Accidental Shooting
The Shooting and Initial Charges
Flower Mound police responded around 12:49 a.m. on July 5, 2024, and found Hashemi, 28, lying outside a stationary vehicle with a gunshot wound above her right eye.2Cross Timbers Gazette. Woman Critically Injured in Flower Mound Shooting3Law & Crime. Boyfriend From Popular TikTok Duo Arrested for Allegedly Shooting Girlfriend in Face After Heated Fight The couple had left an Independence Day festival at Bakersfield Park earlier that night. Brownlee stopped the car less than three miles from the park, and, according to the initial account, a heated argument and physical altercation preceded the shot. Brownlee called 911 himself, reportedly confessing during the call, and stayed at the scene.
Hashemi survived. Brownlee, 28, was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony under Texas Penal Code ยง22.02, plus three counts of deadly conduct involving the discharge of a firearm. Bond was set at $900,000.3Law & Crime. Boyfriend From Popular TikTok Duo Arrested for Allegedly Shooting Girlfriend in Face After Heated Fight
Two Versions of What Happened
Investigators and Brownlee’s defense described the shooting in incompatible ways. The initial police account, echoed by Law & Crime, said Brownlee brandished a gun at passengers in the back of the vehicle after a fight with Hashemi and then fired the shot that struck her.3Law & Crime. Boyfriend From Popular TikTok Duo Arrested for Allegedly Shooting Girlfriend in Face After Heated Fight His attorney later called the shooting accidental, saying the couple had just finished watching fireworks when the gun “accidentally discharged, striking Hashemi in the head.”1Audacy KRLD. Northlake TikTok Star Pleads Guilty in Accidental Shooting Because the case ended in a plea, neither account was tested before a jury.
The Plea and the Probation Sentence
In February 2025, Brownlee pleaded guilty and received ten years of probation from a Denton County judge.1Audacy KRLD. Northlake TikTok Star Pleads Guilty in Accidental Shooting Available reporting did not detail the specific charge he pleaded to or the conditions attached to the probation beyond its length.
Probation on a firearm-involved aggravated assault is unusual in Texas. Judges generally cannot grant community supervision when the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the offense, but plea agreements can change the offense of conviction and the sentencing options that go with it. Brownlee’s lawyer said at the time of the plea that Brownlee and Hashemi remain a couple.1Audacy KRLD. Northlake TikTok Star Pleads Guilty in Accidental Shooting
Who Brownlee and Hashemi Are Online
Before the shooting, Brownlee and Hashemi had built a following of more than 100,000 across social media, posting videos about their relationship and daily lives under the TikTok handles @denoandzahra and @denotatted.4Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Well-Known TikTok Creator Charged in Shooting That online presence is why the case drew wider coverage; outlets reporting on the arrest and plea identified Brownlee primarily as a TikTok creator.