Tai’Vion Lathan, a Transgender Woman, Gunned Down in Baltimore
Police responded to a report of an unresponsive female to discover the 24-year-old's body abandoned in an alley in West Baltimore.
A transgender woman was gunned down in a horrifying murder in Baltimore, Maryland, earlier this month.
On Sunday, August 4, at 10 a.m., Baltimore police responded to a call of an unresponsive female in a rear alley near the intersections of North Monroe and West Lanvale Streets in West Baltimore.
Upon arrival, police discovered that the woman was dead from a gunshot wound. The victim was later identified as Tai’Vion Lathan, 24, also known as “Tai.”
Lathan’s family learned of the news after her mother went to Lathan’s home looking for her daughter, who had missed their daily phone call. The family soon heard that a woman’s body had been found near the home.
“When we got an opportunity to go to the scene, it was just really sad to see that someone could murder someone and leave them covered up on the ground, in the dirt in a pile of bushes,” Mary Robinson, Lathan’s great aunt, told CNN. “All life is valued, whether you are transgender, or regardless of your race or disability, you have to value all life.”
Homicide detectives are still investigating the death. Thus far, no persons of interest have been publicly identified, police have offered no motive for the killing, and no arrests have been made in the case.
Baltimore police and Metro Crime Stoppers are offering an $8,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and felony charges in connection with Lathan’s murder.
Anyone with information about the shooting is being asked to contact police at 410-396-2100. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP (562587), or can leave an anonymous tip via the Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland website.
Local transgender advocates are planning to hold a vigil in Lathan’s honor on Friday, August 16, at a location yet to be announced. A GoFundMe campaign, to help her family cover the costs of her burial, has already raised in excess of $6,200.
“The tragic death of Tai serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing violence faced by the transgender community,” Baltimore Safe Haven, a nonprofit that offers support services to members of the trans community, said in a news release.
“Community advocates are calling for justice and transparency in the investigation, as they believe that many transgender murder cases go unsolved due to issues related to gender identity,” the statement continued. “They are urging law enforcement to prioritize solving these crimes and ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Lathan is one of at least 24 transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals who have been killed so far in the United States this year. Of those, 7 in 10 were people of color, with 42% being Black transgender women, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Maryland has seen 18 transgender individuals murdered since 2013, marking the eighth-highest total by state during that time period, reports Baltimore NBC affiliate WBAL.
Family and friends say they will miss Lathan’s “infectious laugh,” her creativity in terms of her beauty regimen and her homemade cooking, and her loving, caring personality. Lathan’s aunt told CNN her niece was planning to start school to become a personal health care aide.
“One thing I would like for the world to remember is to not just put the first definition of transgender in front of Tai’s name, and to remember that Tai’Vion was a person, and a beautiful person at that, inside and out, that she was loved by many and respected by many, and her family is going to miss her tremendously,” she said.
Koryne Davis, a friend of Lathan’s, told WBAL, “I can’t take no more. I’m tired of losing my people. I’m tired of having to be scared to be myself. I’m tired of having to walk on eggshells because I am who I am. She didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve to not be here.”
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