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Dallas police officials have opened an investigation into the shooting death of Muhlaysia Booker, a 23-year-old transgender Black woman who was found dead on Saturday, The New York Times reports.
Booker’s life was cut dramatically short after she was shot and killed by an unknown assailant who left her body in the street where she was discovered. Her identity was confirmed on Sunday by investigators.
Police say they responded to reports of a shooting around 6:40 a.m. on Saturday.
“Upon arrival, officers found the complainant lying face down in the street — deceased from homicidal violence,” said Dallas Police Major Vincent Weddington during a Sunday press conference.
Last month Booker made national headlines after her brutal beating was caught on tape. The video showed Booker as she sustained multiple hits by a group of men on April 12, after she was involved in a minor car accident in a nearby parking lot. The group was said to have hurled transphobic slurs at Booker during the assault. She was ushered away by a group of Black women who witnessed the senseless beating and was hospitalized with a concussion and a fractured wrist.
Days after, Edward Thomas, was arrested and charged in connection to the assault. Police are still investigating Booker’s assault and have not found any connection to link Thomas as a suspect in her death.
Weddington encouraged members of the community who have any information regarding the shooting to come forward and work with police.
Black trans women face some of the highest instances of violence in the LGBTQ community. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), there have been three black trans women killed in 2019, not including Booker. Black women accounted for all of the reported trans deaths in 2019. In 2018, 26 transgendered persons were killed in the United States according to the HRC, the majority of them being Black trans women.
According to the Times, the numbers could be even higher due to police departments misreporting names and or genders, or the fact that investigators are not obligated to report their findings to an approved database.
Just last month after the video of her attack went viral, Booker spoke at a rally surrounding the investigation of her assault.
“This has been a rough week for myself, the transgender community and also the city of Dallas,” Booker said.
“This time, I can stand before you,” she continued. “Whereas in other scenarios, we are at a memorial.”
May her spirit rest in power.
