Transgender woman shot dead in Detroit
The unnamed trans woman found dead in Detroit was the 25th trans person killed this year in the US (Drew Angerer/Getty)
A 35-year-old trans woman has been found dead with a gunshot wound in Detroit.
The as yet unnamed victim, who is the 25th recorded trans person to be killed in the US this year, was discovered by police around 6am on Friday (December 7) on the east side of the Michigan city, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Authorities are investigating claims by a 46-year-old man who told officers that he was robbed in the area and fired a shot, but is unsure if he hit the trans woman.
The man was reportedly nearby the trans victim, but police are currently treating the two cases as separate.
Corporal Danielle Woods, who acts as Detroit police’s LGBT liaison, said the shooting was not being investigated as a hate crime at the moment.
She added: “I would say that crimes committed against the (LGBT) community are down.”
Detroit trans woman is the latest in a long line of victims
A total of 25 trans people—mostly women of colour—have now been killed in the US in 2018, according to data recorded by LGBT+ rights charity the Human Rights Campaign.
In 2017, 29 trans people were killed in the US, which was more than any other year on record.
The death in Detroit is the second in the last two weeks, after 37-year-old Tydi Dansbury was fatally shot in Baltimore, Maryland on November 26.
The Baltimore Transgender Alliance held a vigil for Dansbury and wrote on Facebook: “We are holding Tydi, her family, and the community in our hearts.”
In October, Ciara Minaj Carter, 31, was fatally stabbed multiple times and left for dead in an abandoned building in the West Garfield Park neighbourhood of Chicago.
In September, it was revealed that trans woman Janelle Ortiz, who was also known as Nikki Enriquez, was allegedly murdered by a Texas border patrol agent who authorities have described as behaving like a “serial killer.”
Trans woman Janelle Ortiz, who was also known as Nikki Enriquez, was allegedly murdered by a Texas border patrol agent (Facebook)
Juan David Ortiz, who is not related to the victim, was indicted on capital murder charges by a grand jury in Texas on Wednesday (November 5) after allegedly killing four sex workers. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
Londonn Moore, another trans woman of colour, was found shot dead in Charlotte County, Florida in September.
The 20-year-old was shot multiple times near Sawyer Circle in North Port.
Moore’s death came just over a week after a different trans woman of colour, Shantee Tucker, was found shot dead in Philadelphia.
Tucker, who had celebrated her 30th birthday on September 2, was found with a gunshot wound by police at about 1am on a highway in the Hunting Park area of the city.
Two trans women found dead on the same day
On August 30, two more trans women of colour were found dead on the same day.
The body of Dejanay L. Stanton, 24, was discovered on a street in Chicago with a gunshot wound to the head, and 18-year-old Vontashia Bell was found in a street in Shreveport, Louisiana, having been shot in the chest and wrist.
In September, Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Sarah McBride told PinkNews: “There is a growing epidemic of violence targeting transgender people, particularly Black transgender women.
“This is an urgent crisis that is a by-product of the toxic and violent combination of transphobia, misogyny, and racism. As a society, our policymakers and lawmakers must do more to combat this violence.”
