On Tuesday morning, the 20th known transgender person was murdered in the United States this year. Police found Derricka Banner, 26, a trans woman of color, shot to death in a car around 3 am in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Montavious Sanchez Berry, 18, was arrested and charged with murder, armed robbery, and shooting into an occupied vehicle.
This is Charlotte’s 64th homicide of 2017 and the 20th transgender person killed. The 17th trans person was killed less than a month ago, showing the frequency and increased crime rate.
It also furthers the gravity of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs’ report last month, revealing more LGBTI people have been killed in hate-related violence so far this year than all of last year.
Furthermore, Banner’s death comes only days before Charlotte’s trans pride, which takes place this weekend from 15 – 17 September.
It is a cruel reminder of the violence and discrimination the LGBTI community faces. Trans people, especially trans women of color, are particularly vulnerable.
In 2016, as reported by GLAAD, 27 transgender people were killed, nearly all of them women of color. So far this year, all but one of the known transgender deaths have been people of color.