The 39-year-old was found with a gunshot wound and transported by medics to the hospital, where she passed away, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Blackwood's death was ruled a homicide and a suspect has yet to be identified. Police initially responded to the scene after receiving reports of a shooting victim but have not released any further information."Tragically, she died on National Coming Out Day, a day that is marked every year on October 11 to emphasize the importance of coming out and creating a safe world in which LGBTQ people can live openly as their authentic selves," said the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in a statement last week. Bonnie Lambeth, a longtime friend of Blackwood, said she was shocked when she heard about her death."Being trans is a motive for murder in a lot of places and so there was always this mild acceptance that this was a risk," Lambeth told CNN. "I'm shaken by it, but there's a level of understanding that this was a possibility."Transgender and gender-nonconforming people face risks that make them particularly vulnerable to homicide. Some experience bias explicitly because of their gender identity. Blackwood's death is believed to be at least the 33rd violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person this year in the US, according to the HRC. "Six transgender woman have been killed over the last 23 days — which is just over three weeks — in this country. This violence is heartbreaking and horrifying. It must end," said Tori Cooper, HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, in a statement. "We have already seen more trans and gender non-conforming people killed this year since we began tracking these deaths in 2013, and the numbers continue tRead More – Source
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