Brianna “BB” Hill was shot to death in Kansas City, Missouri on 14 October.
The 30-year-old black transgender woman was pronounced dead as soon as authorities arrived. Tim Hernandez of Kansas City police told KCTV5 that the shooter remained at the scene and has now been taken into custody.
Authorities believe there were no other suspects in her murder.
George Cherry, who lives near where the crime occurred, told KCTV: “I’m actually part of the LGBTQ community, but I didn’t know that it was a transgender [person] that was murdered. But that actually hits more home to me.
“That’s part of my family because we are out here, we are trying to survive and people take action against us, nationwide. They are human beings. Quit the violence. This shouldn’t be happening to the LGBTQ community.”
Hill is the 21st transgender casualty this year in the US, after Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle Washington, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey, Denali Berries Stuckey, Kiki Fantroy, Jordan Cofer, Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, Tracy Single, Bailey Reeves, Bee Love Slater, Itali Marlowe and Ja’leyah-Jamar. Out of these 21 casualties, 20 are trans women of colour.
Transgender women, in particular, face extraordinarily high levels of violence. Last year, 26 trans individuals were killed in the United States – a majority of which were black and Latina – and 25 of those were women.
If this story has affected you, you can contact Switchboard in the UK and The Trevor Project in the US.
Related: Remembering the 26 trans individuals who were murdered in the United States last year.
Latest
