The 21st trans person to be killed in the US has been named as Brianna Hill
Brianna ‘BB’ Hill was fatally shot in Kansas City this week, marking her as the 21st reported trans person to be killed in the US this year. (Facebook)
The 21st trans person to be reportedly killed in the US this year alone has been named as Brianna “BB” Hill of Kansas City, Missouri.
Also known as Breonna Be’Be Hill on her Facebook page, she was a former member of the House of Dior and a model and regularly vlogged her day-to-day life.
Kansas City Police Department officials confirmed to local media that a man is in custody after fatally shooting Hill and then waiting for officers to arrive to the scene.
What happened?
Hill, 30, was shot in the morning of October 14 in the Vineyard neighbourhood, a wooded, suburban patch of southeast Kansas City.
At around 11:30am, she was gunned down near 43rd Street and Hardesty Avenue, just nearby Vineyard Park, and was found dead by the time officers arrived, according to KCTV.
Detectives confirmed that the alleged shooter was found at the scene. As a result, investigators are not scoping for more suspects but are determining a motive for the shooting.
Anti-trans crime and homicide is on the rise in the US.
Hill’s death has rippled across the local trans community, one of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in the country, at a time where transphobic hate crime has rocketed.
Moreover, earlier this year the people of Kansas City joined to mourn the death of Brooklyn Lindsey, a 32-year-old trans woman found dead.
Hill, as the second reported trans person murdered in the city has plunged the community into unease and worry for their safety.
KCTV spoke to George Cherry, a gay man who lived in the neighbourhood, and disquieted the Hill’s death and the damage anti-LGBT crime is inflicting to the community.
“That’s part of my family because we are out here, we are trying to survive and people take action against us, nationwide,” Cherry explained.
“They are human beings. Quit the violence. This shouldn’t be happening to the LGBTQ community, it hurts our families and our community.”
‘These victims are not numbers, they were people with hopes and plans’, says HRC.
As well as Hill, at least 20 other trans people have been killed in 2019.
Their names are 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 and Pebbles LaDime Doe. Tracy Single, Bailey Reeves, Bee Love Slater and Itali Marlowe.
The LGBT+ community has also this year mourned Jordan Cofer, a white trans man who was killed in a mass shooting.
However, these numbers understate the problem, activists warn.
Local officials are not required to report killings to central databases in the US, and as authorities may misgender (as they initially did with Marlowe) many trans people’s deaths may go unreported.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a damning statement after Marlowe’s death was confirmed by state police.
“These victims are not numbers,” the statement read, “they were people with hopes and plans, dreams for the future, loved ones and communities who will miss them every day.”
