29-year-old woman gunned down in suspected hate crime is the 12th black trans person killed in US this year
A transgender woman was reportedly shot dead in South Carolina on Saturday, July 20, making her the 12th black transgender person to be killed in the US this year.
29-year-old Denali Berries Stuckey was found dead on the roadside by authorities in North Charleston just after 4 am on Saturday, according to reports.
Police have launched an investigation into the case to find possible motives behind the killing. No suspects have been named yet.
North Charleston Police deputy chief Scott Deckard, in a statement, has suggested that his department is currently treating the case as a hate crime.
"Hate crimes are almost universally crimes of violence," he was quoted as saying by CNN.
"We hope that through this tragic act, greater awareness is gained of the continuing discrimination and harassment of the LGBTQ community."
A vigil was hosted for Stuckey on Monday night by the LGBTQ campaign group Alliance For Full Acceptance. Reports state that a memorial was also made on Carner Avenue, where her body was discovered. Stuckey's grieving family and friends paid their respects at the site earlier this week.
“I am heartbroken and outraged by the news of yet another murder of one of our transgender community members," Alliance for Full Acceptance Executive Director Chase Glenn said. “Denali is the third known black trans woman to have been murdered in South Carolina since 2018.”
"She was always a nurturing person. A very sweet person," one of Stuckey's friends Mercedes Airline said.
Stuckey was the 16th homicide victim in North Charleston this year.
Stuckey's tragic death is the 12th known case of violence against the transgender community this year. Reports state that all of the victims in the deadly assaults were black transgender women. Out of more than 140 known victims of anti-transgender violence from the year 2013 to now, nearly two-thirds of the people killed were victims of gun violence.