A transgender woman who was attacked in Dallas last month was found dead

by



[ad_1]

When a transgender woman was assaulted in a parking lot in Dallas in April, footage filmed by a cellphone from this episode made headlines in national news. The police then investigated this case as a possible hate crime.

A month later, Sunday, the Dallas Police Department announced that the woman, Muhlaysia Booker, 23, had been shot. Police said to have no evidence linking the murder to the previous attack.

During a press conference, Major Vincent Weddington said that officers had found Ms. Booker shortly before Saturday at 19 hours and that her identity was confirmed Sunday. They had reacted to the announcement of a shooting and had found Ms. Booker "lying in the street, face down, dead from homicidal violence," he said.

Major Weddington added that Edward Thomas, the man who had been arrested after being repeatedly filmed hitting Mrs. Booker last month, was no longer in police custody, but that nothing indicated that he was related to the murder.

The attack last month took place on April 12, shortly after Ms. Booker was involved in a car accident in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

A The video of the episode shows a man that the authorities identified as being Mr. Thomas, repeatedly striking a woman on the ground while she was struggling. Other men in the crowd have struck before a group of women help him out. Police said that people in the crowd shouted anti-gay insults during the beating and that Ms. Booker was hospitalized for a concussion and a wrist fracture.

According to rights groups, attacks against transgender people are increasing. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a rights group, at least 26 transgender people were killed in the United States last year, most of them being black transgender women. The group listed three transgender people who were killed in 2019 – with the exception of Ms. Booker – and all were black women who were shot dead.

These figures may underestimate the problem, as local officials are not required to report such killings to a central database and because the police sometimes broadcast incorrect names or genres, making it difficult to know that 39, a homicide victim is transgender.

At a press conference following her assault last month, Ms. Booker climbed onto a podium in front of a group of supporters, many of whom carried placards for transgender people.

"It has been a difficult week for myself, the transgender community and the city of Dallas," said Ms. Booker.

"This time, I can stand before you," she added. "While in other scenarios, we are at a memorial."

[ad_2]

Source link