United States

Jacksonville Police Investigating Third Death of Transgender Woman Since February

What to Know

  • Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a hotel Sunday afternoon, finding what they say was a transgender woman inside a room.
  • The Human Rights Campaign, which tracks homicide cases involving victims who are identified as transgender, says 13 deaths have taken place.

Police in one Florida city are investigating the third murder of a transgender person in the last four months – making up nearly one quarter of homicides involving the transgender community in the entire country.

According to NBC affiliate WTLV-TV, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a hotel Sunday afternoon, finding what they say was a transgender woman inside a room dead of an apparent gunshot wound.

The death comes after 36-year-old Celine Walker was found dead inside of another hotel room in February, while 38-year-old Antash’a English was found shot and killed between two abandoned homes.

No suspects have been named in the first two deaths, while officials say that a man in a beige car is the only information they have in Sunday’s case.

"This isn't something that should be considered normal," said Christina Kittle, an activist in Jacksonville, told the station. "People are dying, this is very serious."

"A lot of my friends are scared, they're just scared to go out," Kittle said. "I mean, I would be scared too."

The Human Rights Campaign, which tracks homicide cases involving victims who are identified as transgender, says 13 deaths have taken place in the United States as of this weekend. JSO officials identified the first two victims by their birth gender, a move that was criticized by the HRC but one officials say is used due to a policy of using the victim’s most recent form of identification.

A local group is holding a Trans Lives Matter rally outside the county courthouse on Wednesday.

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