JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are investigating the shooting death Sunday of a person they described as man in his 20s who they believe identifies as a woman. The shooting took place about 1 p.m. at the Quality Inn on Dix Ellis Trail in the Baymeadows area of the Southside.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has not named the victim or said how many times she was shot.
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Police interviewed witnesses and were working to get a description of the gunman, who was initially described only as a man driving a beige car.
Detectives did not evacuate the hotel but blocked off the area where the homicide is believed to have taken place during the investigation.
While the victim has not yet been officially identified, Paige Mahogany Parks, a leader in the transgender community, told News4Jax she knows the victim is transgender. This would mark the third transgender person killed in Jacksonville this year. Another transgender victim was shot earlier this month, but is recovering.
A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman told News4Jax earlier this month that they had no reason to believe the previous shootings of transgender women were connected, But Parks is frustrated that have not been arrests in any of these cases.
"I’m very angry," Parks said. "Celine Walker was the first transgender woman killed in February and they’re still sitting on the case. I went to City Hall last week.They didn’t tell me anything."
A Trans Lives Matter rally for a call for justice for transgender lives who have been murdered is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Duval County Courthouse.