Shantee Tucker, a Philadelphia trans woman of color, was shot dead Sept. 5 in the Hunting Park section of the city and the shooter remains at-large, police said this week.
At a Sept. 5 press conference, Homicide Captain John Ryan said Tucker was shot around 1 a.m. on the 4300 block of Old York Road. Witnesses indicated Tucker got into a brief argument with the driver of a black pick-up truck, who fired eight bullets. Tucker was hit once in the back and transported by police to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about four hours later.
Ryan said Tucker didn’t appear to be targeted due to her gender identity, adding that the motive for her killing remains unknown.
Tucker, 30, resided in the Germantown section of the city, according to a police report of the shooting incident.
Tucker’s Facebook page was flooded with an outpouring of sympathy messages from friends. “I’m going to miss you so much,” one friend wrote. “This really hurts. Rest well.”
Another friend wrote, “Enjoy paradise. This world didn’t deserve you. Trust and believe we will continue to speak your name.”
Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Homicide Unit at 215 – 686 – 3334.
Other Philadelphia trans women of color whose homicides remain unsolved include Nizah Morris, Kyra Cordova, Stacey Blahnik and Kiesha Jenkins.
The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-advocacy group, issued a statement decrying Tucker’s death: “Violence against transgender people, particularly against trans women of color, is an epidemic that urgently needs to be addressed by our communities, elected officials and institutions.”
Michael Cogbill, community organizer for the gun-violence prevention organization CeaseFirePA, said that more people should be waking up to the rising epidemic of trans women of color dying at alarming rates.
“Tucker’s death is a reminder that we’re facing a serious issue of the increasingly-concerning number of trans women of color being murdered. No one seems to be doing anything to address this fatal reality on a national level. We must continue the fight in protecting and speaking up for this vulnerable community.”
A candlelight march and “Call to Action” has been scheduled for 8 p.m. Sept. 12, originating at Old York Road and Hunting Park Avenue. “We’re demanding justice for Shantee,” said Tatyana Woodard, an organizer.
Woodard urged people to attend the event. “We encourage everyone to come out and stand with us, as we ask Philadelphia police and the neighborhood to start standing up for our girls,” she said.
Woodard was a longtime friend of Tucker and mourned her loss. “She was a strong person, a friendly person. Very loving. Always quick to defend others. She never liked to see anyone get bullied. She was a peacemaker,” Woodard said.