Black Transgender Woman Lisa Love Killed Walking Home in Chicago

Lisa Love, a Black transgender woman from Chicago, was shot and killed in the early hours of October 17. She was 35.

She's one of more than 20 trans and gender-nonconforming people to have been killed in 2023. She's the fourth to be reported in October alone. All four of the victims this month have been Black.

Authorities say she was shot in the chest and back, according to local TV station WGN. Her family said she was leaving a friend's home.

“An all-around good person who did not deserve this,” Donna, a cousin of Love's, told WGN. “A loving, caring, free-spirited person. Always smiling and laughing.”

Love's family believes she was targeted. They explained that people in the neighborhood knew she was transgender.

“A car just drove up, made a U-turn and [saw] my cousin,” Love's cousin added. “Approximately 30 seconds later, the car stopped and my cousin was shot.”

Over the last 10 years, at least 231 of the transgender and gender-nonconforming people who died by violence were killed with a gun, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

A trans person has been murdered about every nine days this year, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents notes.

"It appears that the last thing Lisa Love did before her death was visit a friend. She clearly brought joy to many others and deserved to continue being a bright spot in the lives of her friends and family. We must end the epidemic of fatal violence viciously targeting transgender and non-binary people," Tori Cooper, HRC's director of community engagement for its Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a statement.

Authorities are looking for a suspect in the shooting. The family wants justice.

“Why would this happen?” Love's cousin asked. “Why would someone think they could take someone else’s life?”