Baltimore’s LGBTQ+ community is reeling after a 27-year-old trans woman was shot and killed Friday morning in the city’s Barclay neighborhood.
While police have not yet publicly identified the victim, the housing and health organization Baltimore Safe Haven told media outlets her name was Sophie Lee.
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“This is not only a former client of ours, but is also a friend of many of the people here on our staff, and it has affected us greatly, greatly, greatly,” Renee Lau, a director at Safe Haven, told WBAL TV.
Another person affiliated with the organization emphasized that the murder “is a scary thing for people of trans experience because we don’t know exactly what happened. She could have gotten murdered because she was trans. So this could strike up a lot of different feelings inside of individuals. And we have the behavior and mental health component here that we’re able to address it.”
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The group held a vigil Sunday night to honor Lee and also launched a GoFundMe to support her funeral funds. It has raised over $4,000 so far.
“Imagine being the mother who once picked out her baby’s first outfit—and now has to choose what her child will wear for the last time,” the group wrote on the fundraiser page. “That pain has no gender. A mother’s tears don’t fall differently because her child was transgender. A family doesn’t hurt less because their loved one was different.”
“Sophie deserved another birthday. Another laugh. Another chance to fall in love. She deserved to grow old.”
Lee was reportedly found in the middle of an intersection around 1:16 am after being shot in a nearby alley. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police found her purse two blocks away. As of Monday morning, Baltimore police still have no suspects.
Baltimore Safe Haven leaders told WBALTV that they are frustrated by the lack of information police have released and hope officers will collaborate with them.
Lee, who studied at Baltimore School of the Arts, was affiliated with several ballroom houses in Baltimore, according to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, who added that she was named “Best New Overall Mother” last spring.
According to the trans advocacy website “Remembering Our Dead,” Lee is the 36th trans person killed by violence in the United States this year. She is also the second in Baltimore. On June 23, 38-year-old Asia Williams was shot to death at a convenience store.
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