Baltimore police are investigating the shooting death of another transgender sex worker.
Police found Alphonza Watson, 38, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen around 4:15 a.m. Wednesday morning in the 2400 block of Guilford Ave.
According to the Washington Post, witnesses heard cries for help followed by gunshots, and saw 2 black males speed away in a dark colored sedan.
Watson’s mother described Watson as “the sunshine of our family,” a “caring, passionate” person who loved cooking and gardening.
Watson is the eighth transgender person to be killed in 2017. All of the victims were bio black males who dressed in stereotypical feminine clothing. Most of the victims were sex workers.
At least six other male-to-transgenders have been killed in the Baltimore area since 2014.
Key’Ayshia Tucker, a trans person who works for the Baltimore gay and lesbian center, said “barriers to jobs and education” put trans people at risk for violence.
Baltimore police ask anyone with information about the murder to call 443-902-4824.
