Beginning with the most recent, the list dates back to September ‘23 and includes 30 individuals
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released their list of deaths in the transgender community for 2024. Since 2013, HRC has tracked incidents of trans violence., chronicling each near the end of the year in remembrance for the lives that were lost.
Both are reported on in an effort for us all to never forget those who have left us, but as a means to hopefully never again see such violence again.
Here is HRC’s list of those who’ve been reported on over the last twelve months. May we forever hold them in our memory.
Name: Kassim Omar
Age: 29
Story: Kassim Omar was a Black trans woman who fled to the United States from Somalia in order to flee anti-LGBTQ+ persecution. After settling in Columbus, Ohio, she was tragically shot in 2022 by two teenagers who had been harassing her because of her gender identity. She survived the encounter, but was paralyzed following the attack and would go on to be placed in a nursing home. She would later succumb to the injuries, passing away on Sept. 6, 2024.
Name: Redd, also known as Barbie
Age: 25
Story: Barbie was a transgender woman who had a love for hair, makeup, and Nicki Minaj. All of this culminated in a dream of opening up her own beauty business. She was shot and killed in Chicago, Ill. on Sept. 8, 2024.
Name: Vanity Williams
Age: 34
Story: Vanity Williams was a Black transgender woman who, after previously serving in the Air Force, had started nursing school, with the ultimate goal of opening up their own med spa. Tragically, before this could come to fruition, Williams was shot and killed in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2024.
Name: Tai’Vion Lathan
Age: 24
Story: Tai’Vion Lathan, also known as Tai, was found dead in an East Baltimore neighborhood on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, Tai’s aunt said of her niece, “She was just who she was, a very outgoing person, a sweetheart.” Page Boyd, a close friend, added, “There’s so many hearts breaking open out here. How can you wake up everyday knowing what you did? It’s terrible. Tai didn’t deserve to be in no alley.”
Name: Kenji Spurgeon
Age: 23
Story: Kenji Spurgeon was a transgender woman known for having “an infectious smile and quick wit” and “extraordinary ability to uplift everyone around with laughter, a joke, a song or a dance,” as remembered by her family. Spurgeon was tragically shot and killed in the early morning hours of July 1, 2024, in Seattle, Wash.
Name: Shannon Boswell
Age: 30
Story: Shannon Boswell was a Black Transgender woman, remembered in her obituary as “one of a kind” and a “sweet soul.” Her friends and family spoke of her as someone who “loved people” and enjoyed hobbies like “watching movies and living life to the fullest.” Boswell was killed on July 2, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga.
Name: Monique Brooks
Age: 49
Story: Monique Brooks was a Black transgender woman that is remembered as a fun-loving and smart person, as described by her sibling, Lecia. Brooks was also a hair stylist by day and would use her birthday to promote causes needing support, including LGBTQ+ rights. Brooks was found near the Florida Mall in Orange County with gunshot wounds on July 19, 2024. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, according to county deputies.
Name: Dylan Gurley
Age: 20
Story: Dylan Gurley was a transgender woman that hailed from Little Elm, Texas. She was found unconscious by police with multiple stab wounds and declared dead less than an hour later at a local hospital in Denton, Texas on July 23, 2024.
Name: Liara Tsai
Age: 35
Story: Liara Tsai was a Caucasian transgender woman, described by friends and loved ones as an activist and an artist. She had moved to Minneapolis just six weeks prior to her death, to better pursue her career as a DJ and with the hope of being safer in a city with a large trans community. Tsai was found dead in a vehicle after the car crashed in Iowa on June 22, 2024.
Name: Pauly Likens
Age: 14
Story: Pauly Likens was a transgender girl, remembered as a “a bright and loving individual, cherished by all who knew them,” according to a linked GoFundMe page. In Likens’ obituary, it was written that she “lit up every room she entered, always making people smile and passing around her contagious laughter.” She loved music, Fortnite and Roblox. Likens was found dead in Sharon, Penn. on June 25, 2024, after being reported as missing. Her body was later recovered from the Shenango River Lake reservoir in western Pennsylvania, as confirmed by the Mercer County Coroner’s Office and Pennsylvania State Police.
Name: Kita Bee
Age: 46
Story: Kita Bee was a Black transgender woman described as an
“authentic through and through” by her friend of nearly two decades, Kris Wade, Executive Director of The Justice Project. Bee was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Kansas City, Mo., on May 3, 2024.
Name: Jazlynn Johnson
Age: 18
Story: Jazlynn Johnson was a transgender teenager who lived in Las
Vegas, Nev. On May 6, 2024, Johnson was found shot to death inside of a vehicle that morning, near Maryland Parkway.
Name: Brandon “Tayy Dior” Thomas
Age: 17
Story: “Tayy Dior” Thomas was a Black transgender girl who, as
described by her grandmother, “always had a huge smile on her face showing her dimples,” loved helping her Grandmother style her hair and helping others. Thomas was shot and killed on May 7, 2024, allegedly by her romantic partner, who has since been arrested.
Name: Michelle Henry
Age: 25
Story: Michelle Henry was a Black transgender woman who lived in
San Francisco, where she had been an active member of the LGBTQ+ community. Referred to as a “ray of light” by Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director of the SF LGBT Center youth program Henry had previously been a part of. Rolfe also described Henry
as “kind, deeply caring, courageous and fearless.” On May 15, 2024, Henry was stabbed and killed at a private residence in the city. Her alleged killer has been put into detained custody, with SF Police labeling the investigation as “open and active.”
Name: Yella (Robert) Clark Jr.
Age: 45
Story: Yella Clark Jr. was serving a life sentence at Angola prison in
Louisiana before being killed as part of the fallout from a fight with several inmates on April 2, 2024.
Name: Tee “Lagend Billions” Arnold
Age: 36
Story: Tee Arnold was a transgender man, known among friends and family for his love of travel, his nieces and nephews, and for “always offering words of encouragement” to loved ones in need. Arnold was shot and killed on April 3, 2024, in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Name: River Nevaeh Goddard
Age: 17
Story: River Nevaeh Goddard was a non-binary transgender teen, using she/they pronouns, who was described in their obituary as having “had an amazing, outgoing personality. She was very creative and artistic, [and] she loved to write her own music.
Her gentle nature was only matched by her quick wit, and goofiness.” On April 5, 2024, responding to a call for a wellness check, police in the Stow, Mass. area found River in their home,
stabbed to death.
Name: Starr Brown
Age: Unknown
Story: Starr Brown was a Black transgender woman, described as
someone who was “TRULY loved,” “one of the sweetest,” “always had uplifting words” and possessing a “beautiful soul.” Brown was shot and killed in Memphis, Tenn. on April 19, 2024.
Name: Andrea Doria Dos Passos
Age: 37
Story: Andrea Doria Dos Passos was a transgender woman who had been homeless in the Miami, Fla area. Passos was killed outside of the Miami City Ballet while sleeping there on April 23, 2024.
Name: Diamond Brigman
Age: 26
Story: Diamond Brigman was a Black transgender woman, remembered by a friend as being “larger than life.” Brigman was killed on March 16, 2024 during a drive-by shooting while standing on a street in Houston, Texas.
Name: Alex Taylor Franco
Age: 21
Story: Alex Taylor Franco a transgender man who, as described by his loved ones, was “an athletic, cheerful man with a big heart,” who was “so much more than just Alex.” Franco was shot and killed on March 17, 2024, in Taylorsville, Utah.
Name: Meraxes Medina
Age: 24
Story: Meraxes Medina was a Latina transgender woman who, according to her Instagram account and a blog post by Pgh Lesbian Correspondents, was a makeup artist who also worked at Universal Studios Hollywood, enjoyed shopping. watching the Jurassic Park movie series, and admired Shakira and Karol G. Medina. She was found in the early morning hours of March 21, 2024, in south Los Angeles, Calif., suffering from a gunshot wound. She was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Name: Africa Parrilla Garcia
Age: 25
Story: Africa Parrilla Garcia was a transgender woman who, as described by friends, was someone well loved, and like “a sister” to them. Garcia was shot and killed on Feb. 2, 2024, in the Santurce area of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Name: Reyna Hernandez
Age: 54
Story: Reyna Hernandez was a Latina transgender woman who, born in Mexico, moved to the United States when she was 19. She resided in Renton, Wash., where she owned a hair salon, the fulfillment of a childhood dream. Hernandez was shot and killed in the city on Feb. 26, 2024.
Name: Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill
Age: 35
Story: Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill was a Black transgender man, known to his friends and family as TK and Chevy, who pushed for Black LGBTQ+ inclusion throughout his community. Hill was the owner of ‘Evollusion,’ a full-service hair salon dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ community in Atlanta, with the mission of helping Black queer people feel comfortable in a traditional Black barbershop setting. Hill was shot and killed on February 28, 2024, while in the front yard of his home, in East Point, Ga.
Name: Kitty Monroe
Age: 43
Story: Kitty Monroe, who also went by their birth name Marcos Lugo, was a Latina transgender person known for painting, singing, and having a great sense of humor. Kitty was killed during a fatal hit and run after being chased by suspects armed with guns on Jan. 1, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz.
Name: Sasha Williams
Age: 36
Story: Sasha Williams was a multiracial transgender woman who was described as a “selfless artist” who had a “heart of gold” and as someone who had earned their GED despite struggling with her mental health, according to reports about her. Williams’s aunt Tina Thornton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she had dreamed of being a performer in Las Vegas. Williams was stabbed and killed in that city on Jan. 26, 2024.
Savannah Ryan Williams
Age: 38
Story: A Cuban and Native transgender woman, Williams was described by her partner as a “loving, caring person.” Amber Muhm with The Aliveness Project described Savannah as “…fierce, full of life. She had a big personality and an even bigger heart” in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio. Williams was violently killed in Minneapolis, Minn. on Nov. 29. On Dec. 7, 2023, the Minnesota State Capitol echoed in remembrance as Savannah’s partner, friends, chosen family and even legislators and public officials gathered for a vigil in her honor.
Name: Amber Minor
Age: 40
Story: Amber Minor was killed in Raytown, Mo. on Dec. 24, 2023. She was described as a “warrior” with a strong will and spirit. Amber was also a previous survivor of violence, recovering from gunshot wounds and having been hit by a car.
Name: Meghan Riley Lewis
Age: 57
Story: A transgender woman and a mother of two, Lewis was a staple in her community for transgender activism. She devoted her life to feeding hungry and homeless queer people. On Dec 27, 2023, reports confirmed that Lewis was shot and killed by a food delivery person following a verbal altercation that turned physical in Bel Air, Md. Despite attempts to save Lewis by emergency responders, she ultimately passed away after being taken to the hospital.
Additional content added by David Aaron Moore