Black Trans Woman Shot to Death in Virginia
Chae’Meshia Simms becomes the 39th known trans or non-binary killed in US this year
BY MATT TRACY
A Black transgender woman was
found dead with a gunshot wound
inside a vehicle that crashed into a
detached garage in Richmond, Virginia,
on November 23.
It was around 5:42 a.m. three days before
Thanksgiving when, Richmond police said, offi -
cers found Chae’Meshia Simms, also known as
ChaeChae, dead with a gunshot wound in the
driver’s seat of the crashed vehicle in an alley at
800 Block of Cheatwood Avenue in the northern
section of Richmond. She was pronounced
dead at the scene.
The circumstances surrounding Simms’
death remain unclear. Authorities told Gay City
News the medical examiner will determine the
cause of death for Simms, who was in her 30s
when she died, but the case is being labeled as
a homicide. There have been no arrests and no
suspects have been publicly identifi ed at this
point.
According to News 6, a local news outlet in
Richmond, Simms was driving home with her
mother’s rental vehicle at the time of the crash.
Family and friends huddled on November 27
to remember Simms, whose sudden death has
➤ HOUSTON MURDER, from p.4
sic Sciences, but the local ABC News affi liate
in Houston and others have identifi ed her as
22-year-old Asia Jynaé Foster. ABC further reported
that investigators are considering the
possibility that Foster’s body was dumped onto
the road.
When reached by phone on November 25, a
Houston police spokesperson referred Gay City
News to the latest update in the case from November
23 when the department confi rmed that
investigators are probing the fatal shooting. No
arrests have been made and it does not appear
any signifi cant developments have emerged in
the days since the victim was discovered.
Foster’s family and friends held a vigil two
days after her death at Montrose Grace Place
(MGP), a safe space for homeless and other LGBTQ
youth in Houston. Foster appears to have
been associated with the organization.
“It saddens and pisses us off that we’re making
another post about an MGP youth taken
from us by anti-trans violence,” Montrose Grace
Place noted in a Facebook post. “Asia was outgoing,
funny, and she could put together a read
that left everyone around her scrambling to
pick up their jaws. We’re saving a seat next to
Tracy for you Asia. We love you.”
FACEBOOK/ CHAE’MESHIA SIMMS
Chae’Meshia Simms became the 39th transgender or non-binary
individual known to have suffered a violent death this year.
prompted her family to demand justice. Her father
is calling on the local LGBTQ community
to help search for answers in the case, according
FACEBOOK/ ASIA JYNAÉ FOSTER
to News 6.
The body of Asia Jynaé Foster, 22, was found by a road in Houston
on Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Tracy Single, a 22-year-old Black transgender
woman, was found dead on the ground in
Houston in July 2019. Her body had puncture
wounds and severe lacerations.
Congresmember Sheila Jackson Lee, who
represents Houston, spoke out following Foster’s
death, urging her colleagues on Capitol
Hill to work toward eradicating the deadly violence
plaguing transgender and non-binary individuals.
CRIME
Simms became the 39th known transgender
or non-binary individual to suffer a violent
death this year, according to the Human Rights
Campaign’s (HRC). Simms’ death contributes
to a record-breaking year during which Black
trans women have been murdered at shocking
rates. It is possible that there are other individuals
whose deaths have not been public.
Simms is the fi rst known trans individual
to have suffered a violent death in Virginia this
year among the 39 confi rmed cases nationwide.
In Texas, at least three transgender women —
including two Black trans women — have been
killed this year.
National Black Justice Coalition executive director
David Johns said in a written statement
that he no longer wants to talk about resiliency
in the community. Instead, he wants all efforts
to focus on the pressing need to end the deadly
violence targeting trans folks.
“What I want is for the violence that Black
trans women experience to end, once and for
all,” Johns said. “There is no explanation for the
continued violence that Black trans women and
femme identifi ed members of our community
face, especially not during a global movement
for Black lives. This is on us, this is on all of
us.”
“We should all mourn the senseless violent
murder of Asia Foster, a transgender woman of
color,” Jackson wrote on Twitter. “These murders
have happened one after another. This appears
to be a directed violent attack on innocent
women because of who they are.”
Jackson added, “There must be a swift and
quick investigation, and the alleged perpetrators
must be brought to justice. I am seeking
to pass federal legislation to investigate this repetitive
national violence against transgender
women of color. Enough is enough!”
Foster’s death is the latest in an ongoing
string of murders this year targeting transgender
or non-binary individuals, especially Black
transgender women. Foster is the 38th known
trans or non-binary individual to suffer a violent
death this year — the most on record — according
to HRC.
The fatal shooting occurred just over a
month after longtime trans activist and blogger
Monica Roberts suffered a fatal medical emergency
at 3030 Elmside Drive in Houston, just
four miles west of the location where Foster’s
body was found. Roberts’ death sent shockwaves
throughout the LGBTQ community and
contributed to what has been a tragic year for
transgender and non-binary Americans.
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