Update (May 19, 2020) : A 40-year-old suspect has been arrested for the murder of a Black transgender woman in Missouri. According to KFVS12, Joseph B. Cannon has been charged for stabbing 28-year-old Nina Pop earlier this month. The suspect is being held in custody without bond after being arrested on Friday, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety stated. Although a motive has not been identified, police have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.

“We are pleased to have enough evidence to charge someone for this brutal act,” Sikeston DPS Chief James McMillen said in a statement. “Several people came forth, offering information, which assisted us greatly in this investigation. We have little doubt this homicide has upset many people in the community and we are thankful we were able to charge the suspect.”

Pop was stabbed to death on May 3 inside of her Sikeston, Missouri, home just 145 miles south of St. Louis. The 28-year-old was well known in the area, and a friend said that "she was always happy," the Advocate reported.

Pop's death marks the 10th known trans killing in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The organization stated violent attacks toward the trans community are sometimes unreported and victims are misgendered in police reports, delaying its awareness of incidents.

Pop's death also marks the fifth trans death in the past month.

Original story (May 8, 2020) : Nina Pop, a Black transgender woman, was killed in her Missouri apartment Sunday night, the Associated Press reported.

Pop was stabbed to death inside of her Sikeston, Missouri, home just 145 miles south of St. Louis.

Pop's death marks the 10th known trans killing in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The organization stated violent attacks toward the trans community are sometimes unreported and victims are misgendered in police reports, delaying its awareness of incidents.

Her death also marks the fifth trans death in the past month.

Although a motive or suspect has not been identified, police say they are not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime.

Pop was well known in the area, and a friend told a local news outlet that "she was always happy," the Advocate reported.

Advocates with the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) are hoping Pop's death triggers state lawmakers to introduce an LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination bill, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Missouri Human Rights Act, Gay City News reported.

“Transgender people — and particularly transgender women of color — are facing a wave of violence,” Mara Keisling, NCTE’s executive director, said in a written statement. “Police and other government officials must do more to keep transgender people safe, to thoroughly investigate crimes against [our] community, and to stop enacting laws that enable transgender people to be targeted.”

Just two weeks ago on April 22, two transgender women were killed while visiting their hometown in Puerto Rico. Activist Pedro Julio Serrano said at least nine LGBTQ+ individuals have been killed on the island in the past 15 months, Gay City News reported.

“For the past four weeks, we have seen the deaths of five transgender women of color in this country,” Tori Cooper, HRC’s director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a written statement.

“We are seeing an epidemic of violence that can no longer be ignored. Transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially trans women of color, risk our lives by living as our true selves — and we are being violently killed for doing so,” Cooper added. "We must be outraged by this news and we must channel that outrage into action immediately."

The HRC reported at least 26 trans killings in the U.S. in 2019, many of which were Black transgender women. The organization stated Black trans women are disproportionately attacked.

In 2019, the American Medical Association declared the killings of trans people an epidemic, as Blavity previously reported.

As part of its initiative, the AMA said it was launching a series of efforts to combat the epidemic. The AMA pushed for the implementation of a national database that accurately identifies the gender of victims and the establishment of police protocols for when law enforcement officers encounter a trans person.

If anyone has information on the killing of Pop, Sikeston police can be contacted at 573-471-4711.

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