The footage is grainy, shaky, and difficult to watch. It’s the kind of video that changes the trajectory of a music genre in less than sixty seconds. On November 6, 2020, the hip-hop world stopped. We weren’t just looking at another headline about street violence; we were watching the literal end of one of the most promising careers in modern rap. People still ask who killed King Von because the situation was so chaotic, so public, and so deeply tied to a long-standing feud that it felt like a scripted tragedy. It wasn't scripted. It was a messy, high-stakes confrontation outside a hookah lounge that left several people shot and a family grieving a father and a son.
Dayvon Daquan Bennett, known to the world as King Von, was more than just a rapper from O'Block. He was a storyteller. His "Crazy Story" series wasn't just catchy; it was cinematic. But on that night in Atlanta, the story hit a wall.
The Chaos Outside Monaco Hookah Lounge
Atlanta’s nightlife is usually about vibes and networking. Not that night. Around 3:30 AM, outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge, two groups collided. This wasn’t a planned hit. It wasn't a coordinated assassination. It was a "see you in the streets" moment that went south fast. King Von and his crew encountered Quando Rondo’s camp.
You've probably seen the surveillance video. Von, wearing a white tee, approaches a man in a black hoodie—later identified as Quando Rondo—and starts swinging. It was a physical fight first. Von was leading the charge. He was aggressive. He was doing what he had done his whole life in Chicago: asserting dominance. But the rules of engagement changed the second a gun was drawn.
Amidst the scuffle, shots rang out. Von was hit multiple times. The person who pulled the trigger was Timothy Leeks, better known in the industry as Lul Timm.
Lul Timm is a close associate of Quando Rondo. From his perspective—or at least the perspective his legal team would later argue—he was defending his friend. When you see your brother getting beat down by a group of men, and you have a weapon, the instinct for many in that environment is to use it. That’s exactly what happened. Timm didn't hesitate. He fired, hitting Von and others in the vicinity.
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The Legal Aftermath and the "Self-Defense" Pivot
The question of who killed King Von is legally settled, but the "why" and the "was it justified" parts are still debated in every barbershop and Twitter thread. Timothy Leeks was arrested while he was still in the hospital recovering from his own gunshot wounds. He was charged with felony murder.
For a long time, the internet was convinced he’d spend the rest of his life behind bars. But the law is nuanced. Georgia has "Stand Your Ground" provisions. If you reasonably believe that you or someone else is in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm, you can use deadly force.
In 2023, the news dropped that changed everything: the charges against Lul Timm were dropped.
The prosecution basically realized they couldn't overcome the defense's argument. The video showed Von initiating the fight. It showed a group of men swarming Quando Rondo. Under Georgia law, Timm had a claim to defense of a third party. It’s a bitter pill for Von’s fans to swallow, but legally, the case is closed. The state decided they didn't have a winning hand.
The Tension Between Chicago and Savannah
You can't talk about King Von's death without talking about the geography of the beef. Von was the pride of Chicago’s South Side. Quando Rondo and Lul Timm represented Savannah, Georgia. This wasn't just a beef between two rappers; it became a proxy war between two different street cultures.
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The aftermath was poisonous.
Lil Durk, Von’s close friend and the head of Only The Family (OTF), was devastated. The music that followed was dark. It was filled with references to the "incident." On the other side, Quando Rondo found himself essentially blackballed from the industry. Shows were canceled. Promoters were scared. The streets were "hot," as they say. Even though the legal system washed its hands of the murder charge, the court of public opinion—and the street code—remained undecided.
Honestly, the tragedy is the waste of talent. Von was just hitting his stride. He had moved to Atlanta to get away from the violence in Chicago, which is the ultimate irony. He died in a city he moved to for safety, during a fight he started, at the hands of a man who felt he was protecting his friend.
What People Often Get Wrong
There’s a lot of misinformation floating around. Some people think there was a second shooter from the police side. While it's true that off-duty Atlanta police officers were working at the club and did fire their weapons during the chaos, the medical examiner's reports and the ballistic evidence pointed to the shots fired during the initial scuffle as the fatal ones.
Another misconception? That this was a setup.
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The evidence suggests otherwise. It was a chance encounter. Both groups happened to be at the same spot at the same time. In the rap world, circles are small. You run into people. If there's unresolved tension, it blows up. There was no "hit" ordered. There was no grand conspiracy. It was just ego, adrenaline, and easy access to firearms.
The Impact on the Drill Scene
King Von was the face of a new era of drill. He brought a storytelling element that felt like a modern-day Slick Rick, but with the grit of O'Block. When he died, that momentum shifted. It forced a lot of artists to look at their security protocols. You'll notice now that top-tier rappers move differently. More security. Less "crashing out" over minor insults.
But the cycle continues.
Every time a King Von track plays in a club, there’s a reminder of what was lost. He was a polarizing figure, sure. He bragged about his past. He embraced the "villain" persona in his music. But he was also a provider for his community. He was known for handing out thousands of dollars in cash to the people in his old neighborhood. He was complex.
Final Takeaways on the Investigation
- The Shooter: Timothy Leeks (Lul Timm) was identified as the individual who shot King Von.
- The Charges: Initially charged with murder, the case was dismissed by Georgia prosecutors in August 2023.
- The Context: The shooting occurred during a physical altercation initiated by Von against Quando Rondo.
- The Conclusion: Legally, the act was treated as a defense of others, though it remains a point of intense conflict in the hip-hop community.
If you’re looking to understand the full scope of the tragedy, don't just look at the police reports. Listen to the music Von left behind. Listen to Welcome to O'Block. It explains the environment that creates a person like Von—someone who was always ready for a fight because, where he came from, that was the only way to survive.
To stay updated on these types of cases, you should follow official court transcripts and reputable local news outlets in Atlanta, rather than relying solely on social media rumors. The "street" version of the story and the "legal" version often live in two different worlds, but in the case of King Von, they both point to a singular, violent moment that didn't have to happen. Keep an eye on the civil side of things; often, when criminal charges are dropped, wrongful death lawsuits follow, which can bring more evidence to light. For now, the chapter on the criminal prosecution of King Von's killer is firmly shut.