Another trans woman has been killed during pride month
The transgender flag. (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty)
A third black transgender woman has been killed this year in Jacksonville, Florida, after being the victim of a shooting at a hotel.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office [JSO] responded to the shooting after 1pm on Sunday 24 June. Based on JSO’s description of the victim, she’s believed to be a transgender woman in her twenties.
Activist Christina Kittle spoke to The Jacksonville, a local newspaper: “This isn’t something that should be considered normal. People are dying, this is very serious.”
“A lot of my friends are scared, they’re just scared to go out,” Kittle added. “I mean, I would be scared, too.”
Trans rights campaigners (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images)
The victim is now the second trans woman to be killed during pride month, and the third to be killed this year in the area. Jacksonville now makes up 23 percent of the transgender homicides for the USA.
The first homicide this year occurred on Feb. 4, when 36-year-old Celine Walker was found shot and killed inside a room at a hotel.
Demonstrators protest for transgender rights in Chicago (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
While the second killing occurred on June 1, when 38-year-old Antash’a English was found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen between two abandoned homes in the 1500 block of Ella Street. She later died at a hospital.
Courtney Cole, a local news reporter from Action News Jax posted pictures of another Antash’a English, who was killed in Jacksonville earlier this month.
The victim at the Quality Inn on Dix Ellis Trail is the 3rd transwoman who has died due to gun violence in Jacksonville this year. Earlier this month Antash'a English was found dead on Ella St. Celine Walker was killed in a hotel near the St. Johns Town Center. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/3DqFoVLpS9
— Courtney Cole (@CourtneyANJax) June 25, 2018
Paige Mahogany Parks, a leader in the transgender community in Jacksonville, spoke to News4Jax about the latest homicide. “I’m very angry,” Parks said. “Celine Walker was the first transgender woman killed in February and they’re still sitting on the case. I went to City Hall last week.They didn’t tell me anything.”
Local activists are planning a Trans Lives Matter rally for a call for justice for the women killed, it’s set for 7pm Wednesday 27 June at the Duval County Courthouse.
