Transgender women are being killed at an alarming rate this year. In less than a month's time, four young, black trans women have been killed in the U.S.
The first three, Vontashia Bell; Dejanay Stanton and Shantee Tucker, were killed in the same week. Stanton and Bell were killed within hours of one another.
The fifth, 20-year-old London Moore, was found shot to death just north of Jacksonville, Florida in the town of North Port on Saturday, the Advocate reports.
Moore is the fourth trans woman to be killed in the Jacksonville area this year, and the fifth trans woman to be killed in Florida. Two Jacksonville women were killed in quick succession this summer, sparking fear in the city's trans community.
“The transgender community in Jacksonville is frightened,” Gina Duncan, a transgender-rights advocate with Equality Florida, told NBC News after the third Jacksonville woman was found murdered. “They fear this could be a serial killer or orchestrated violence targeting the community. They do not feel protected on their own streets.”
Police have dismissed claims of a serial killer, and although the person behind Moore's homicide has yet to be identified, local law enforcement officials believe Moore actually knew her attacker.
“We have no information at this point that it was a hate crime,” Joshua Taylor of the North Port Police Department told WBBH. “However, it's on the table; certainly it could come out that way. Part of figuring out why it was done includes talking to who did it. We have to get to that point.”
Despite the assessment of North Port police, local activists believe Moore's death should be investigated as a hate crime.
Moore is the 20th trans person killed in the United States this year.
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