Redd, a 25-year-old Black transgender woman known as “Barbie” to her friends, was shot and killed in the early hours of Sunday on Chicago’s West Side. The tragedy marks the 26th known violent death of a transgender or gender-nonconforming individual in 2024. Despite the clear violence of the act, Redd’s family is pleading for the crime to be investigated as a hate crime. The shooter, still unidentified, opened fire on Redd and a group of friends around 1:30 a.m., leaving her dead at the scene and another victim critically injured. Chicago police have yet to classify the case as a hate crime, sparking outrage among family and advocates.
Witness accounts from Redd’s friends suggest the shooting was premeditated. Michelle Lee, a close friend, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the group had been standing on a street corner when a man approached them to speak with another group nearby. Thirty minutes later, he returned with a gun, opening fire on Redd’s group. As they fled, Redd was struck multiple times in the back and legs. The 34-year-old second victim was hit in the chest and rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Police recovered 15 shell casings from the scene.
The apparent randomness of the attack combined with Redd’s gender identity has intensified calls from her family for justice. “I do feel like it was a hate crime,” Redd’s cousin, Mariyah Phillips, told the Sun-Times. “People are really attacking that community. I want people to know that they are being attacked.”
A Pattern of Violence
Redd is the first transgender woman murdered in Chicago this year, but the city has a grim history of violence against transgender individuals. Since 2016, at least 14 transgender or gender-nonconforming people have been murdered in the city. Shockingly, most of these cases remain unsolved, illustrating a broader issue of systemic neglect and insufficient action by law enforcement.
The murder of Tatiana Labelle, another Black transgender woman, in 2022 highlights the recurring issue. Labelle’s body was discovered brutally beaten and left in a garbage bin. Despite the pleas from her family for answers, Chicago police have made no arrests in her case. Labelle’s case, like so many others, remains open and unresolved, fueling further frustration and anguish in the transgender community.
Transgender rights activist Zahara Bassett, who personally knew several of the victims, remains haunted by the lack of justice. “It’s a forever cycle of trying to heal, continuously trying to move forward with no answers,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times. Bassett, who runs Life is Work, a nonprofit dedicated to serving trans people of color, highlighted that out of the 14 murders since 2016, only four cases have led to charges.
This ongoing violence is part of a broader national epidemic. Researchers documented more than 400 transgender homicides in the United States between 2010 and 2023. Disturbingly, 73% of those murders involved Black transgender women, like Redd and Labelle. Across the country, violence against the transgender community continues to surge, with the U.S. Department of Justice recording a 350% increase in gender-identity-related hate crimes between 2020 and 2022.
Community Pleas for Accountability
The violence against Black transgender women has laid bare the need for systemic change and more dedicated police work. Redd’s murder follows a long line of tragic deaths, but for the community, it represents yet another example of how little is being done to protect them. Activists argue that law enforcement agencies are failing to act with urgency, leaving the most vulnerable groups exposed to violence.
Bassett expressed a viewpoint that many supporters shared: “The problem I have with the Chicago Police Department is that they prioritize what they want to prioritize. If an officer gets shot, all hands are on deck. Why are the same priorities not given when a Black trans woman is murdered?”
This apparent disparity has stirred anger not only within the trans community but among broader civil rights advocates. In response to inquiries about the unsolved cases, the Chicago Police Department claimed that gathering information “takes time to piece together.” However, many feel that the lack of progress suggests something more troubling.
Advocates like Bassett stress the importance of visibility and action, emphasizing that the trans community has been left to mourn their losses without adequate support or justice. The widespread misgendering of victims, which frequently occurs in police reports and media coverage, makes this frustration even worse by effectively erasing their identity and complicating investigations.
Systemic Failures in Policing Transgender Murders
The low clearance rate for transgender homicides — only 14% in Chicago since 2016 — starkly contrasts with the national average, which stands at around 50%. This discrepancy raises serious questions about the city’s commitment to solving these crimes. Despite community demands for accountability, little seems to change. The failures in policing transgender murders are reflective of larger systemic issues within law enforcement, which struggle to recognize and address crimes against marginalized communities.
National studies have consistently shown that violent crimes disproportionately affect Black transgender women. They often live at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities, making them especially vulnerable to hate-based violence. The lack of data tracking transgender-specific crimes exacerbates the problem, making it difficult to assess the true scope of the violence.
Researcher Brendan Lantz, who helped compile the Transgender Homicide Tracker, highlighted how data collection can improve the understanding of this crisis. “To better define the problem, we need better data,” Lantz said. “It’s a bleak reality, but the majority of transgender homicide victims are young Black women, and many of the murders involve extreme violence, indicating a high level of transphobia.”
A Call for Action and Change
While the city remains stalled in its efforts to curb violence, the transgender community continues to organize in the face of mounting losses. Vigils for Redd and other victims have been held, with allies calling for stronger hate crime protections and dedicated resources for transgender people. A vigil was recently held for Redd at Taskforce Prevention and Community Services, a group she was involved with. Her friends released balloons in her honor, remembering her as a loving and kind person who demanded respect.
“She wanted to be loved and respected,” said her friend, Trevon Pope. “That’s how she was. That’s one thing she didn’t play about.”
But love and respect are not enough to halt the tide of violence, advocates argue. Real, tangible action is needed from both local law enforcement and political leaders to address this epidemic of violence. With transphobia on the rise—fueled in part by inflammatory rhetoric in politics—these murders cannot be viewed in isolation.
Hate crimes against transgender people, particularly Black transgender women, are not random acts of violence. They are often born from a toxic environment that dehumanizes and marginalizes transgender individuals. This systemic transphobia has tangible consequences, resulting in lives being lost and families being left to grieve without closure.
The Bottom Line
The brutal murder of Redd adds another name to the growing list of transgender individuals who have been violently taken. The lack of arrests, accountability, and justice for these victims highlights the deep-seated failures of both the police and the broader justice system.
Until the community’s demands are met — until police departments take these murders seriously, and political leaders act to ensure the safety and rights of transgender individuals — the cycle of violence will continue. The fight for justice remains urgent, with the hope that one day, Black transgender women will no longer live in fear.
For families like Redd’s and Labelle’s, the long wait for answers continues. As Shameika Thomas, Labelle’s sister, put it, “I can’t let go without answers.” And for the transgender community, the call is clear: justice delayed is justice denied.
