Transgender woman shot and killed in Chicago
A transgender woman was shot and killed in Chicago in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
24-year-old Tiara Richmond, who also went by the name Keke Collier, was in a vehicle in the Englewood neighbourhood with a male.
It is believed that a male fired shots at Richmond, who was found lying on the ground with multiple wounds to her chest, arm and hand.
The shooter fled the scene in a red car.
Richmond was taken to the Christ Medical Centre where she was pronounced dead at 7.03am in the morning, just 45 minutes after the attack took place.
Early reports of Richmond’s death misgendered her, and used the name she was given at birth.
Activists in the Chicago area stress that Richmond’s family, made up of two sisters and a brother, accepted her gender identity and were devastated over the loss.
Trans activist LaSaia Wade met with Richmond’s family at a vigil that was held a day after her death.
“It was beautiful,” Wade said of the vigil.
“They partied, they laughed, they cried trying to remember and hold on to the memories of Keke and knowing that she was loved,” the 29-year-old added.
Retta Collins, a long-term friend of Richmond and her family said: “She loved to dance all the time. She was always the life of the party. Even when we got into fights, she didn’t want to fight.”
