Fourth Transgender Murder Reported in Kansas City
Police in Kansas City have a man in custody for fatally shooting a transgender woman, KCTV 5 reports. He reportedly waited at the scene for police to arrive after the shooting. This is the fourth murder of a transgender person in Kansas City this year. The city has a reported 118 homicides this year in total.
KCTV goes on to report: "The victim in the most recent case has been identified as 30-year-old Brianna 'BB' Hill of Kansas City. Hill was shot about 11:30 a.m. Monday near 43rd Street and Hardesty Avenue in eastern Kansas City and died by the time officers arrived."
"Hill, like all of us, had hopes, dreams, aspirations and plans for the future," Human Rights Campaign Spokesperson Elliott Kozuch told Newsweek. "She had family and friends who are mourning this senseless loss—a loss that is part of a larger epidemic of violence against the transgender community in this country, spurred by a toxic mix of transphobia, racism, misogyny and unchecked gun violence. There are currently very few explicit legal protections for transgender or gender-expansive people. While the transgender community does have protections in employment, housing and public accommodations in Kansas City, there are no state nondiscrimination protections for this community, and they are not covered under the state's hate crimes legislation."
Newsweek goes on to write that this year's transgender murder rates may go on to meet or exceed those of last year. Additionally, these rates may underreport the true numbers due to frequent misgendering of victims.
George Cherry lives on Hardesty Avenue, and was home at the time of the shooting, but tells KCTV that he didn't hear anything, and laments the tragedy.
"I'm actually part of the LGBTQ community, but I didn't know that it was a transgender [person] that was murdered but that actually hits more home to me," Cherry said. "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.
KCTV 5 adds that "Hill's death was the fourth fatal shooting in the Kansas City area since Saturday."
"They are human beings. Quit the violence. This shouldn't be happening to the LGBTQ community, it hurts our families and our community," Cherry said.