Mesha Caldwell was 41, a hair and makeup artist and a transgender woman. Two days ago her body was found along a road in Canton, Mississippi (Madison County). Coroner Alex Breeland did not deny that she had been shot to death. The incident has been ruled a homicide.

While there are limited details behind the shooting, police are currently investigating when the shooting happened, and a motive.

Caldwell was a well-known beautician and makeup artist in her community. Evonne Kaho, CEO of the transgender nonprofit Love Me Unlimited 4 Life, and Caldwell had known each other since 1996.

She was a happy person that loved everyone and never met a stranger. For me as a black transgender woman and the leader of the community, it’s a very hard pill to swallow. This is a tragic event, and it not only impacts the trans community but the community as a whole.

--Kaho

Mary Young, a friend of Caldwell's mother who's known her since she was a child, said she was "hurt" when she heard people using male pronouns to describe Caldwell.

She always, always dressed like a girl. And as she grew up, she became beautiful just like a lady.

--Young

Caldwell's killing is the first murder of a transgender person that has been reported this year.

Tiommi Jenae Luckett shared the following on FB:

#MeshaCaldwell has become the first reported murder of a transgender woman of 2017 in Jackson, Mississippi. Oftentimes, our names are not mentioned nor our lives celebrated as we fight simply for the right to live. That's it. In a nutshell! We who are of trans experience are not seen, nor heard, nor valued, respected, nor deemed worthy to breathe!! Why? I really need to know why? I can't fathom what living must be like for those who are enslaved and nurtured, wholly and blindly blanketed within the cloak of white supremacy! To value a life as little as they value yours!

I didn't know #MeshaCaldwell. I hadn't ever heard her name spoken before today. Yet and still, the impact is real with the knowledge that her absence here with us today was most likely the result of being transgender. The original report misgendered her and the follow up report removed gender altogether, (a body). The erasure is real and its effects are real!