Muhlaysia Booker, a Black Trans Woman Who Was Brutally Attacked in April, Has Been Killed

In April, Muhlaysia Booker, a black trans woman, was brutally beaten in broad daylight in an attack that was captured on video. This past weekend, she was shot and killed in Dallas. Booker was 23 years old.

According to the Dallas Police Department’s Vincent Weddington, officers responded to a 911 call early Saturday morning and found Booker “lying facedown in the street, deceased from homicidal violence.” She was identified a day later. Booker is at least the fourth black trans woman to be shot and killed in 2019, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Just a month ago, on April 12, Booker was brutally beaten by a group of men shouting homophobic slurs. According to police, Booker had backed into another person’s car in a parking lot that day. As reported by BuzzFeed News, the “suspect allegedly ran her off the road to stop her, and then threatened her with a gun unless she paid for the damages.” A crowd gathered, and someone then offered one of the men, Edward Thomas, $200 to beat Booker up. Video of the attack shows Thomas punching Booker repeatedly and other men kicking her as she attempted to ward off her attackers, before a group of women intervened and took her to a hospital.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Thomas and others yelled, “That’s what your faggot ass gets” and “Get that faggot out of our hood” during the attack. Booker was knocked unconscious during the beating and also suffered a fractured wrist. Thomas was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury. On Sunday, the police department said there is currently no evidence linking Thomas to Booker’s killing.

At a rally held in April, Booker spoke publicly for the first time after she was attacked. “This time it was me. The next time could be someone else close to you,” Booker said, according to news reports.

Booker continued: “This time I can stand before you, where as in other scenarios we are at a memorial. Our time to seek justice is now. If not now, when?”