Metro Weekly

Texas man charged with shooting transgender woman in northwest Dallas

Surveillance footage of red pickup led police to arrest Domingo Ramirez-Cayente, now charged with aggravated assault

transgender, trans, gay news, metro weekly
Crime scene tape – Photo: Fer Gregory

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in the shooting of a transgender woman in northwest Dallas last week.

Domingo Ramirez-Cayente, a Mexican citizen, faces a charge of aggravated assault for shooting a 35-year-old Latina transgender woman multiple times in the chest and arm. He remains in the Dallas County Jail with bail set at $25,000.

According to witnesses, Ramirez-Cayente was allegedly driving his pickup truck along Dennis Road around 11 p.m. on Sept. 20, when he saw the victim and pulled up alongside her. Ramirez-Cayente reportedly began to harass her, making derogatory remarks about gay and transgender people.

The woman tried to ignore Ramirez-Cayente, but he followed her to a nearby bus stop, at which point he pulled out a handgun and began shooting.

The woman was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery to treat her injuries. Police have said the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. 

Police later released surveillance footage of Ramirez-Cayente’s red Chevrolet pickup, which was used to track him down. He was arrested on traffic charges, and, in a subsequent interview, admitted to shooting the victim, reports The Dallas Morning News.

Ramirez-Cayente was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated. He had a separate drug-related conviction dismissed after successfully completing probation.

Friday’s attack is the fifth such incident involving targeted violence against a transgender woman in Dallas County in the past year. In October, 29-year-old Brittany White was found fatally shot inside a parked vehicle in southeast Dallas.

In April, a 26-year-old transgender woman was stabbed in South Dallas, but survived and was able to describe her attacker to police. That case remains under investigation.

In May, 22-year-old Muhlaysia Booker was found shot to death in Far East Dallas, just weeks after she was beaten unconscious by a mob of people in an attack caught on video following a minor car accident. Kendrell Lavar Lyles, 33, has since been charged with her murder.

In June, police arrested Ruben Alvarado, 22, for the slaying of Chynal Lindsey, a 26-year-old trans woman whose body was pulled from White Rock Lake.

A grand jury indicted Alvarado on a charge of felony murder, finding evidence in support of the claim that he strangled Lindsey and beat her with his hands, his belt, and an unknown object.

Read more:

Man being sought as “person of interest” in Florida trans woman’s death

Police arrest suspect in murder of Jacksonville trans woman Celine Walker

National Trans Visibility March takes to the streets of D.C. on Saturday

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