Philadelphia police have arrested a man in the fatal shooting of a male-to-female (MtF) transgender in North Philadelphia early Sunday morning.
Troy Bailey, 28, initially told police he was a witness to the shooting of a transgender LGBT advocate identified as Michelle “Tamika” Washington, pictured left.
Washington, 40, was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds at 5:43 a.m. Sunday.
Police say Bailey went to the Homicide Unit, claiming he was a witness to the shooting and provided a false description of a suspect.
But another witness later identified Bailey as the suspect in Washington’s death, according to NBC 10.
Bailey confessed to shooting Washington in the head at point blank range following a dispute over the sale of a handgun. But police don’t believe that was the real motive.
The two were captured on surveillance footage walking together prior to the shooting before 5 a.m. Sunday. Bailey had an extensive criminal history that included sexual assault charges.
Washington, who was born a male, was a well-known transgender rights advocate in Phiily’s transgender community.
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Washington’s death comes a day after another male-to-female transgender, Muhlaysia Booker, was shot and killed in Dallas, weeks after being assaulted by a mob in a viral video.
Booker, 23, was fatally shot in the 7200 block of Valley Glen Drive around 6:40 a.m. Saturday, according to NBC 5.
Police have no suspects in Booker’s death. Booker and Washington are the 5th and 6th MtF transgenders of color to be killed this year. All of the victims were sex workers.
“Tragically, violence continues to disproportionately impact our transgender siblings, especially trans people of color,” Mayor Jim Kenney wrote in a statement obtained by NBC 10. “We must speak up when these acts strike our communities and demand an end to the violence and discrimination our transgender siblings face.”
