Sophie Vásquez and Danny Henson were both victims of horrific violence which led to their deaths on May 4.
Sophie Vásquez, a 36-year-old Latina transgender woman, was fatally shot in her Brookhaven, Atlanta apartment last week.
Police found her body neglected in the doorway of an apartment in the 400 building at Atlantic Brookhaven. Vásquez was not a recorded resident, according to Project Q.
Brookhaven Police Department later confirmed Vásquez was murdered in Gwinnett County in the early morning.
The 36-year-old was misgendered and deadnamed in the police report for the case.
“Through communications with the Community Estrella and the Brookhaven Police Department, I confirmed reports that a Latina transgender woman, Sophie Vasquez, was murdered in Gwinnett County on the morning of May 4,” Darlene Darlington Wagner, the President at Transgender Day of Remembrance Atlanta shared on Facebook.
“She was misgendered and dead named in the police report. I will keep everyone posted on further developments and any plans regarding a vigil or memorial service.”
Sophie was continuously misgendered and deadnamed by the police team investigating the case. When will we able to die with dignity!
— Ben Haseen, MD (He/Him) 🏳️⚧️ (@Lionhearted_ben) May 7, 2021
An online fundraising campaign was launched to support the costs of Vasquez’s funeral which has a target goal of $10,000 goal.
“We want to give Sophie Vásquez the memorial she deserves, to honour her memory and say our last goodbyes,” Angie Arrieta Vasquez wrote on the Go Fund Me page.
Vásquez is the second trans woman to be targeted in Atlanta this year. On January 17, Bianca “Muffin” Bankz, a Black transgender woman, was shot to death in her apartment.
Bianca’s friends and the Trans Housing Coalition held a vigil outside of her apartment on January 29,
According to HRC, Trans Housing Coalition founder and co-director, Jesse Pratt López, said: “Muffin was just blossoming into herself”.
On the same day, Danny Henson was attacked in her home in Baltimore, Maryland. The 31-year-old was shot on the 5100 block of Williston Street.
Baltimore Police addressed calls at 2:30am for an unresponsive body where they found Henson’s body.
“The injustices that we’re facing in our own backyard is horrendous,” said Baltimore Safe Haven representative Iya Gammons. “We are dying at an alarming rate.”
More than 20 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been fatally shot or killed in 2021.
“We need to stop having all these black men, black women, black trans people dying and no justice being found,” said Ashley Evang whose known Henson for 14 years.
Related: Four more trans women have been tragically killed in the US
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