Around 6:40 a.m. on Saturday (May 18), Dallas police officials were called to the scene of a crime to discover that Muhlaysia Booker, a transgender woman who was physically attacked by a group of men last month, was fatally shot. According to Buzzfeed News, the 23-year-old Dallas resident was discovered face-down in the street. The police department ruled her death as “homicidal violence.” An investigation is still underway.
In April, Booker was brutally assaulted by a group of men after a minor car accident. A 29-year-old suspect, Edward Thomas, was charged with aggravated assault, but later released on bond. Law enforcement states there’s no evidence to believe Booker’s death is connected to last month’s incident.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of Muhlaysia Booker,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings tweeted on Sunday (May 19). “I call on anyone with information on this homicide to please contact the Dallas Police Department.” In 2018, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) revealed that 26 transgender people were murdered. Black transgender women made up a majority of that figure.
I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of Muhlaysia Booker. I call on anyone with information on this homicide to please contact the Dallas Police Department.
— Mike Rawlings (@Mike_Rawlings) May 20, 2019
Sarah McBride, HRC’s national press secretary, previously said to CNN that the country’s politicians need to take action.
“While there certainly are examples of individuals killed by people they know, including partners, many of the transgender people who have been killed are murdered by almost complete strangers,” McBride said. “More people need to understand this epidemic of violence targeting marginalized people in this country, including transgender people, is hate-based and a byproduct of existing prejudice inflamed by politicians all too eager to appeal to the darker undercurrent of society.”
