Another transgender woman has been killed in Philadelphia.
Kiesha Jenkins, 22, was shot and killed in Logan early Tuesday morning.
Homicide Capt. James Clark told PGN that Jenkins had just gotten out of a car at a park at 13th and Wingohocking streets around 2:30 a.m. A few minutes later, five or six males approached and assaulted her.
“One man pulled out a gun and she was shot twice in the back,” Clark said.
Jenkins was transported to Einstein Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
An arrest has not yet been made. Detectives are searching for surveillance video, and a description of the suspects has not yet been released. Detectives are also searching for the man whose car Jenkins had been in; a description of the vehicle has not been released.
Clark said it did appear that Jenkins was targeted, but said it is not clear yet if her transgender identity played a role in the shooting.
“We don’t know,” he said. “Obviously, it looks like she was targeted, but we don’t know yet for what reason.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 215-686-TIPS (8477).
According to her Facebook profile, Jenkins was a Philadelphia native who attended West Philadelphia High School and Temple University. It is unclear why Jenkins, who lived in North Philadelphia, was in the area of the incident.
Jenkins’ murder is the latest in a string of violent crimes against transgender women of color; Jenkins was at least the 20th trans woman killed in the United States this year.
Earlier this year, trans woman Londyn Chanel was stabbed and killed by a roommate in Philadelphia. In 2013, Diamond Williams was stabbed and dismembered by a man with whom she was allegedly sexually involved; that case is scheduled to go to trial in the spring.
This Sunday will mark five years since the unsolved homicide of Stacey Blahnik in South Philadelphia, who was strangled by an unknown assailant. Also unsolved is the 2002 homicide of Nizah Morris, who was found dead after a police courtesy ride.