Distress in Baltimore
Crystal Edmonds of Baltimore was walking on a sidewalk in Northwest Baltimore in the wee hours Friday morning when someone walked up behind her and shot her in the back of her head.
She was found on that sidewalk and rushed to a hospital, but she died Friday afternoon.
The 32-year-old Edmonds was a transgender woman.
Police do not know the motive or why Edmonds was in the area at the time and will investigate. Police are canvassing the area.
Baltimore City police spokesman TJ Smith said they have no evidence that Edmonds was engaged in illegal activity.
With Sgt. Kevin Bailey, the police liaison to the LGBT community, at his side, Smith warned at a news conference at the scene Friday that anyone who could commit such a heinous crime could do it again. Bailey has already met with and spoken to advocates of the LGBT community concerning the crime. Smith that the “transgender community is sometimes a vulnerable community, sometimes targeted by people.”
Anyone in the community feeling overwhelmed by the violent loss of another of our sisters can reach out to Hearts & Ears. Black Transmen Inc. member Ken Jiretsu has volunteered to keep the doors of Hearts and Ears open for extended hours to provide peer support from 6-9 p.m. this evening for community to process. A counselor will be available during those hours for added support. Hearts & Ears is located at 611 Park Avenue, Suite A, Baltimore, MD 21202.
The local transgender community was rocked by news of the murder.
Since I've heard of Crystal's death, I’m worried for my own life.
--Sophia
I feel angry about what's going on.
It doesn't matter if you're transgender or not. People will hate you for being different
--Diane
Sophia says the community must pull together and fight to stay alive.
Because if we don't pull together, it's just going to make those who attack us stronger. If we don't fight we're going to end up in a much worse situation than we are now and that's why we have to
--Sophia
Crystal is the 21st transgender person believed to have been murdered so far this year.
That's one short of last year's record-setting number.
Comments
Sad news. Thanks for reporting, Robyn.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
How terrible! I hope they figure out who did it.
No one is safe until they do.
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I just shake my head most
I just shake my head most times when OI see these essays, that people are killed just for trying to get comfortable in their own skin says a lot of sad things about this nation and the society we are stuck living within. I think you do good work reporting these Robyn, I just most time check a vote but 21 recording killings this year and not all in one state.
I have transgender friends who are applying to get asylum papers filled to move away from this sick nation as the death tolls are so high for a "1st world" nation. I hope she can get it and go to Canada or England as they are better there than here towards their Trans communities.
So long, and thanks for all the fish