Sixteenth trans person murdered in Atlanta suburb

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

2016 was the deadliest year on record for the murder of transgender women. The reported number, which may be smaller than the actual due to misgendering and under reporting, was 27. This year seems on track to have the same outrageous number or even higher. TeeTee Dangerfield, 32, was murdered Monday in College Park, Georgia. College Park is a suburb of Atlanta.

Dangerfield was the sixteenth transgender person known to have been killed in 2017. Fourteen of the women were African American, as was Dangerfield.

College Park police Maj. Lance Patterson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Dangerfield was shot about 4:20 a.m. Monday. She “was sitting in her car when bullets rang out, police said. She was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Patterson said,” according to the Journal-Constitution.

“At this time we have no information that points to the shooting being the result of our victim being transgender, Patterson told The AJC.

“Transgender individuals face disproportionately high rates of violence and discrimination. According to The National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2015 Transgender Survey Report, ‘46 percent of respondents were verbally harassed and 9 percent were physically attacked because of being transgender.’ The survey also found that 10 percent of respondents reported being sexually assaulted during the prior year, and 47 percent said they were sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime,” reported HuffingtonPost.com.

The Journal-Constitution in its coverage used Dangerfield’s birth name instead of the professionally accepted practice of using the name that a person uses their selves. Such incidents often allow crimes against transgender people to go under reported or not reported at all.

Below are the names and ages of the other 15 transgender murder victims of 2017 (provided by LGBTQNation.com):

Mesha Caldwell, 41

Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28

JoJo Striker, 23

Jaqarrius Holland, 18

Keke Collier, 24

Chyna Gibson, 31

Ciara McElveen, 21

Alphonza Watson, 38

Chay Reed, 28

Kenneth Bostick, 59

Sherrell Faulkner, 46

Kenne McFadden, 26

Josie Berrios, 28

Ava Le’Ray Barrin, 17

Ebony Morgan, 28

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – August 2, 2017 @ 1:50 p.m.