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Transgender Homicides Hit National Record with Virginia Killing

Detectives are investigating the death of a transgender woman who was found critically wounded early Sunday on the south side of Richmond, Va., and later died.


Noonie Norwood. (Source: Facebook.)

Noonie Norwood, 30, was found early Sunday morning when Richmond police responded to a reported shooting. Norwood was unresponsive and transported to a local hospital where she died nine hours later, police said.

Police are looking for a mandriving a dark-colored sedan who may have been nearby at the time of the shooting, the reported.

The said the killing pushes the number of transgender homicides to a record level. Norwood’s death is the 23rd transgender homicide this year. Last year, 22 transgender homicides were reported.

The said in a statement that there is a “continuing, alarming, multi-year trend” showing people of color and transgender and gender non-conforming people "continue to make up the majority of victims of hate violence.”

“Noony Norwood’s death is a heartbreaking milestone for our communities,” said Shelby Chestnut, director of community organizing and public advocacyat the Anti-Violence Project’s national office in New York. “It is on all of us to address this crisis of violence affecting transgender and gender non-conforming people in this country, and the transphobia, misogyny and racism that is at the root of this violence.”

In Richmond, a said detectives investigating the Norwood's death “have interviewed a few people, but there are others they would like to hear from, especially those who were in the area … or may have known the victim.”

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