[ad_1]
For the third time in less than a year, the Dallas police announced Monday that she was investigating the murder of a transgender woman, evoking the specter of a wave of violence aimed at One of the most marginalized communities in the city.
Police said the woman, 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey, was released from White Rock Lake on Saturday afternoon. Her murder was the second in two weeks of a black transgender woman in Dallas and she was the fifth transgender woman in three years to be violently attacked or found dead in town.
At a press conference Monday, U. Renee Hall Chief of the Dallas Police Department said that Ms. Lindsey's body was wearing signs of "overt homicidal violence." When asked if there could be a serial killer chasing transgender women in the city, Chief Hall has people to stay calm.
"At the moment, we do not have the evidence to prove it," she said. "But what we ask of everyone in our community is to be vigilant, to make sure that you know your family, that your friends and family members know who you are with and know where you are. want. will. "
Major Vincent Weddington told reporters that the ministry was investigating four unresolved murders of black transgender women: two in 2019, one in 2018 and one in 2015. In addition, the ministry said in a statement. statement that the remains of a transgender woman were found in a field in July 2017. She clarified that this case had been classified in the category "unexplained death".
On Monday, Chief Hall said the department had sought the help of federal law enforcement in the investigation into the murder of Ms. Lindsey.
"The Dallas Police Department contacted the F.B.I. because as we know, this is the second transgender individual who died in our community, "she said. "We are concerned, we are actively and aggressively investigating this case and we have contacted our federal partners to help us with these efforts."
The assassination of Ms. Lindsey comes at a frightening moment for the transgender community in Dallas. Last month, Muhlaysia Booker, 23, was shot dead just weeks after being brutally attacked in a parking lot. She suffered a concussion and wrist fracture during this assault, which drew national attention after a video was widely shared online.
"The moment is really scary," said Lou Weaver, transgender coordinator for Equality Texas. "We literally celebrated Mrs. Booker's life last week and Saturday night, they found another transgender woman whose body was left in a swamp."
"People are scared," Weaver said. "We wonder if anyone targets the transgender community."
In a statement, Equality Texas said Lindsey's murder was "particularly tragic at the beginning of the month of pride," which celebrates the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, which gave birth to the modern rights movement homosexuals and in which transgender women of color played a central role.
Police said last month that there appeared to be no connection between the two attacks against Ms. Booker. However, the ministry said it was investigating the similarities between his assassination and the attacks on two other transgender women: a murder in October and a non-fatal wrist assault in April.
"In the course of these investigations, the detectives learned that, in addition to all the victims, they were transgender women, two of the victims were in the Spring Avenue and Lagow Street neighborhoods before the offenses", said the department in a statement. "In addition, it was also determined that two of the victims were riding in a vehicle with someone. In another case, the victim allowed someone to ride in his vehicle. "
According to the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, the deadly assault on transgender women has increased in recent years. According to data collected by the Human Rights Campaign, at least five transgender women have been murdered violently in the country. in 2019 and at least 26 were killed in 2018.
Sarah McBride, a spokeswoman for the group, said the attacks in Dallas were a particularly sinister part of the national trend.
"All too often, we see that violence is spreading every year in a specific region or state," she said, noting the explosions of violence in Louisiana and Jacksonville, Florida in recent years. "Contagion or a copy effect raises concerns whenever a community is witnessing a significant number of cases of anti-transgender violence."
[ad_2]
Source link