Trans woman fatally stabbed in Bronx apartment building
In the Bronx, a trans woman was fatally stabbed and police are now searching for a suspect.
Another trans woman has unfortunately lost her life in a violent crime. Kemar Soloman, 32, was stabbed to death inside a Bronx apartment.
READ MORE: Man arrested in killing of transgender woman Merci Mack
The NY Daily News reports Soloman died of multiple stab wounds early morning on July 26. After suffering chest injuries, she was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital after the incident where she died. Initially, police had no leads and were not immediately able to identify the victim.
Now, developments have been made including the identification. The New York Police Department has released surveillance images of a man they consider to be a suspect. According to NY Daily News, the person of interest is a Black man in his 20s, wearing dark pants, a white T-shirt, and a surgical mask.
The report details the NYPD currently has no clear reason for the killing as their investigation continues. Soloman’s reported criminal history is not confirmed as linked to her murder.
State records revealed that Solomon had been arrested 36 times and was paroled last December. She served more than three years for attempted robbery.
READ MORE: BET pulled my ad calling to protect Black trans women. It’s not OK
Solomon’s violent death adds to an unfortunately long list of transgender people murdered in 2020 alone. USA Today reports that the Human Rights Campaign has been tracking transgender homicides since 2013. 2020 has been the worst of them all.
The yearly count is up to 21 as of July 8, almost equal to 2019’s total of 27.
“Over the past several years, more than 150 transgender people have been
killed in the United States, nearly all of them Black transgender women,” writes Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in the 2019 Anti-Trans Violence Report.
The report continues, “for transgender women of color who are living in crisis, their crisis must become our crisis as well. We must recognize that the killings of Black and Latinx transgender women reflect a deep level of indifference and fear, and we must directly combat it.”
A study conducted from January 2013 to March 2015 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, finds that in America, trans women have a life expectancy of about 35 years of age.
Anyone with information on Soloman’s murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
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