Detroit police are investigating the shooting of a transgender woman who they believed was targeted because of her identity.
—Food truck worker caught on video spewing racial slurs at Black woman to pay $1000 fine—
Security footage caught a man and woman engaged in an altercation at a Mobile gas station that started outside and carried over inside the store before the woman was shot and wounded.
The woman struggled to take the gun from the man, but it fired, hitting the 29-year-old, police said.
“Anytime there’s a crime, it’s tragic,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said, according to news reports.
“Certainly, this community wants to know: Is it a hate crime? What is it?”
However, police are still uncertain what led to the shooting. The woman is expected to survive her injuries.
“It’s too early to tell, but we’ll get more information,” Craig said.
Residents gathered together at a candlelight vigil Tuesday and a LGBT community chat at to discuss the disturbing shooting.
“I’m glad she fought back. I’m glad she’s still here,” said resident Cierra Burks.
The man fled in an a black Ford Explorer, police said.
Transgender attacks on the rise
This year is on track to be one of the deadliest years for the LGBTQ and same gender loving (SGL) community in our nation.
In June, 24-year-old Cathalina Christina James, was found shot to death in a Jacksonville, FL hotel room. It took her family some time to locate her because the local police force misgendered her in the initial reports of her death.
This year we have already reached the frightful number of 15 reported transgender homicides and once again the majority of these victims are either Black or people of color.
In 2017 there were 52 reported anti-LGBTQ/SGL homicides, the highest death rate of these types of murders on record, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). Nearly half of these tragic deaths (22) were Black transgender women, a community that continues to experience a disproportionate share of anti-LGBTQ/SGL violence.