Florida Sees Fifth Homicide of Trans Woman This Year

A transgender woman was shot to death Saturday in North Port, Fla., marking the 20th known homicide of a trans American this year.

London Moore, 20, was found dead in an undeveloped area of the town, according to local media, which initially deadnamed and misgendered her. Her car was found in a different location the next day, reports southwest Florida TV station WINK.

Police called the killing an isolated incident and said they believe the victim knew her attacker, who remains at large. Activists, though, pointed out that Moore's death is part of a cycle of violence against transgender people, especially women of color, and should be investigated as a hate crime.

Hal Trejo of All Rainbow and Alllied Youth Inc. noted that Moore is the fifth trans person murdered in Florida this year. Three were in Jacksonville and one was in Orlando. "So we see it's a huge crisis and needs to be addressed and talked about," Trejo told another area TV station, WBBH.

Police are reserving judgment. "We have no information at this point that it was a hate crime," Joshua Taylor of the North Port Police Department told WBBH. "However, it's on the table; certainly it could come out that way. Part of figuring out why it was done includes talking to who did it. We have to get to that point."

[RELATED: These Are the Trans People Killed in 2018]