TeeTee Dangerfield, the 16th Trans Woman of Color Killed This Year

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Black transgender woman named TeeTee Dangerfield was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in College Park, Georgia. This makes her the 16th transgender person of color to be killed this year on record in the United States.

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When police found Dangerfield inside her car at the South Hampton Estates apartment complex, she was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. So far, police haven't determined what motivated the murder and are still searching for suspects. Speaking to the press, Major Lance Patterson explained that they could not yet determine whether it was a hate crime, stating: "At this time we don't have anything that's telling us that, but we're not ruling out any possible motive."

Dangerfield's death comes at a particularly strenuous time for the transgender community. It was only days ago that popular morning show The Breakfast Club allowed comedian Lil Duvall on their show to "joke" about killing transgender people. When asked what he would do if he discovered he'd slept with someone who was transgender, he responded: "This might sound messed up and I don't care: she's dying." He has yet to apologize for that and other transphobic remarks.

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In response to Dangerfield's death, Monica Roberts of TransGriot released a statement, saying that she was "sick of [her] trans sisters dying." It's still not clear what will happen in this case, but it's a stark reminder of the dangers that the transgender community and, specifically, trans women of color face every day.