Trans woman shot dead in street as death toll in US continues to spiral
Detroit trans woman found after being fatally shot in another act of violence against the LGBTQ+ community (Getty Images)
Police have said that a trans woman found on the pavement in Detroit, Michigan, was fatally shot, in what is thought to be the 22nd tragic murder of a trans person in the US this year.
The woman, who has not yet been identified, was found on Monday (25 July) after a neighbour reportedly discovered a body on the pavement near his home.
Click On Detroit reported that the woman was found wrapped in a blanket at around 11pm and that police determined the woman was shot multiple times.
Witnesses reportedly told the outlet that they believe the woman jumped out of a vehicle and was chased while being shot at.
The investigation is ongoing and the woman cannot yet be identified ahead of her autopsy being completed.
The woman is thought to be the 22nd trans person killed in the US this year, just days after the senseless killing of Keshia Chanel Geter in Georgia, who was shot to death on Wednesday 20 July.
While Geter’s death was reported as the 21st murder of a trans or gender non-conforming person in the US this year, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) stressed that there could be many more killings that go unreported.
The HRC claimed that trans people of colour are disproportionately impacted by violence against the LGBTQ+ community, with 73 per cent of gun homicides of transgender and gender non-conforming people being Black trans women.
The non-profit organisation stated: “We must demand better from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender legislation at the local, state and federal levels, while also considering every possible way to make ending this violence a reality.
“It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of colour, especially Black transgender women.
“The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive, so we must all work together to cultivate acceptance, reject hate and end stigma for everyone in the trans and gender non-conforming community.”
