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Detroit Police Speak Out After Trans Woman Found Shot and Killed on City's East Side

Police are investigating and expressed sympathy to the LGBTQ+ community

In another horrific attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community, a transgender woman was shot and killed in Detroit on Monday evening. Her body was found on the city’s east side, in the 13800 block of Fenkell, at around 10:30 p.m..

According to Fox 2 Detroit, police were called after a witness found the woman’s body near a vacant storefront with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are currently investigating and working to identify the victim.

"Another trans woman of color has lost their life, and so it’s devastating to the community that this occurred," said Corporal Dani Woods, the LGBTQ+ Community Liaison, to WXYZ.

Transgender people are more than four times as likely than cisgender people to experience “violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault and aggravated or simple assults,” according to a 2021 study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The study also revealed that nearly half of all violent victimizations are not reported to police.

2021 marked the deadliest year of violence against gender diverse people, according to an annual list compiled by the nonprofit Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide. 375 transgender people were killed, up from 350 in 2020.

This latest case follows two other Detroit-area transgender murders this year. In February, Naomi Skinner was murdered in Highland Park and in May, Ray Muscat was murdered in Oakland County.

While Detroit Police are still collecting details on Monday’s murder, they’re encouraging anyone with more information to contact them regarding this case at 313-596-2260. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.

This story is developing, and Pride Source will report further details on the case as more information is released. LGBTQ+ Violence Support Resources

If you or someone you care about is experiencing violence, help is available:

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