Man Charged With Murder in Death of Trans Woman Merci Mack

A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder in the case of Merci Mack, 22, a Black transgender woman who was shot to death at an apartment complex in Dallas June 30.

Dallas police arrested Angelo Walker last Wednesday, The Dallas Morning News reports. He was being held in the Dallas County Jail, with bail set at $900,000.

A witness said he saw Walker pursuing Mack in the apartment complex's parking lot and shooting at her, the Morning News reports, based on an affidavit from the arrest warrant. At one point she was lying on the ground and Walker was continuing to fire at her, according to the affidavit.

The witness and anonymous tipsters said Walker and Mack were arguing over a video of the two of them that she intended to share with others. The content of the video remains unknown.

Mack's family and friends expressed relief that an arrest had been made. They described her as an upbeat person who doted on her niece and nephews.

"That's the kind of auntie she was: 'I don't care what your mama said, come get in this car, and we're going to get some ice cream.' They loved her," her sister Tyeshia Rickett told the Morning News.

Ta'tiana Waites, a longtime friend of Mack's, said she was outspoken, generous, and funny. "She should be here right now," Waites added.

Shannon Walker, founder of Nu Trans Movement in Dallas, blamed the violent deaths of trans women on homophobia and transphobia. "We're dealing with a generation of men that are just not ready to face the music and just not ready to embrace their sexuality and the experiences and the feelings that they're having for trans women of color," she told the Morning News. "And that's just the bottom line."

Mack is one of at least 21 trans and gender-nonconfirming people who have become homicide victims this year. Most have been Black and Latinx women.