Right before Pride Month came to a close, more tragic news emerged about another life lost. Merci Mack, a 22-year-old Black trans woman from Dallas, was found unresponsive in a parking lot on the morning of June 30. USA Today reported.

According to the police report, witnesses found Mack with bullet wounds in her body, and people nearby said they heard gunshots around 5 a.m., but no one who heard the gunshots called 911. At 6:15 a.m. a passerby called authorities about Mack, who was declared dead at the scene. Sgt. Warren C. Mitchell told NBC News that police are still searching for leads in the case.

“Our detectives, as with all murders, are working diligently to find the perpetrator to this horrible crime. We continue to ask the community for their assistance,” Mitchell said.

In a statement, David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, noted that Texas has the highest number of trans deaths in the country, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“What pains me most about the continued loss of Black trans life is that nearly everyone who is identified as Black knows the sting of stigma and the trauma of discrimination. We know the horror of being the victim of violence simply because of socially constructed ideas of ‘Blackness,’” Johns said.

“This shared experience alone should be enough for each of us, everyone who is Black, regardless of cis or trans experience, to collectively call for and do the work to end the violence that trans and non-binary members of our community experience—too often in silence. Merci Mack deserves better, as a community we failed her and so many of our trans siblings and this is beyond unacceptable,” he added.

Mack's Facebook page is now full of messages from people remembering her life and the time they spent with her.

“I’m gonna miss you like crazy Twinn… Fly High Baby I cant stop looking at your page hoping this is a cruel game l. I’m gone miss that beautiful smile,” Nicole Monroe wrote on Mack’s page.

In his statement, Johns said it was hard to comprehend the rising death toll and explained the work needed for the killings to stop.

“What do you do when you don’t have the capacity to wrap your head around the pain and trauma a community of people continues to experience and you know that your feelings aren’t half of what’s required to show up as a member of that community? You continue the work and insist that others, who purport to believe that #BlackLivesMatter, also get engaged,” Johns said.

Tori Cooper, HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, echoed those remarks in a statement to Out.com, calling out the unfairness of the situation and the nonstop violence Black trans women face on a daily basis.

“Another Black transgender woman has had her life stolen from her. We cannot become numb to the fact that our community has learned of more killings of transgender and gender non-conforming people in the past few weeks than HRC has ever tracked in the past seven years. Her friends say that Merci Mack was a young, upbeat soul who deserved to experience a full life. HRC is mourning with Merci’s loved ones and are calling for a full, thorough investigation into her death,” Cooper said.

To donate to organizations advocating for Black trans lives, click here.

Riah Milton

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