Brianna Ulmer, a 25-year-old transwoman, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head during another instance of gun violence in the city of Chicago, WGN reports.

She was one of the four victims fatally shot in a string of shootings last week that occurred over 12 hours. The shootings also left 10 people injured. Upon the officers' arrival, they found Ulmer and transported her to Holy Cross Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Yahoo News reports Ulmer is at least the 37th trans, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming person killed due to violence within the U.S. this year. In 2020, 44 people who identify as trans were killed, not including those who have been misgendered or deaths that have not been reported. 

Ronda Ulmer, her mother, recently set up a GoFundMe to help cover her funeral expenses. With a goal of $3,000, she's already received over $700 in financial support.

"My daughter was a victim of a ruthless murder. unfortunately I am a single mother and the funeral expenses is an unexpected challenge for me. I know Brianna was loved by many and at this time your support is greatly needed and appreciated. Brianna was an amazing person who touched so many people's hearts with her presence and her memory will forever live on. #TRANSLIVESMATTER," Rhonda wrote.

Disaya Monaee Smith was shot to death on Sept. 6 in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Advocate reports. Her death was marked as the fourth killing of a trans, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming person in 2021. 

"2021 is on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender and nonbinary people — and in Chicago, Disaya Monaee Smith's killing marks the fourth transgender person to be murdered in the Chicago region this year alone," NBJC deputy executive director Victoria Kirby York shared in a press release. 

Tori Cooper, the director of community engagement for the Human Rights Campaign's Transgender Justice Initiative, shared that the violence against trans people is often "the result of a toxic combination of transphobia, racism, and misogyny."

"The epidemic of violence plaguing the transgender community, particularly Black transgender women, is appalling," she expressed. "We must do more to protect trans lives and provide resources to support the trans community."

Three-fourths of confirmed homicides against transgender people have involved a gun. Furthermore, advocates saw a 43% increase in the formation of anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups in 2019, according to the Transgender Homicide Tracker. 

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