A transgender woman was fatally shot inside a Germantown apartment just after midnight on Thanksgiving Day, the District Attorney's Office said on Thursday.
Shahere "Diamond" Jackson-McDonald, 27, was shot multiple times and left face down on the kitchen floor of her mother's apartment on the 400 block of Manheim Street, near Morris Street, in the early morning hours of Nov. 24. She was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m., and investigators found no obvious signs of forced entry.
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District Attorney Larry Krasner said that investigators recovered bullet casings, cellphones and other items that are being tested forensically. The person responsible could be someone who Jackson-McDonald knew personally, and authorities are encouraging anyone with information to contact Philadelphia police as they continue to conduct an investigation into Jackson-McDonald's death.
"It is devastating and heart-wrenching as we mourn the loss of yet another member of our LGBTQ family, Shahere 'Diamond' Jackson-McDonald," said Celena Morrison, executive director of the city's Office of LGBT Affairs. "Violence against transgender people — especially our trans siblings of color — continues to be an epidemic in this country and it is unacceptable. My office is committed to ensuring that acts of discrimination, bigotry and hatred are never tolerated in the city of Philadelphia, and we will not stop until all of us are safe and treated with respect and honor."
Jackson-McDonald is the 35th transgender or gender non-conforming person killed in an act of violence so far in 2022, according to the District Attorney's Office. While the police have not yet determined whether Jackson-McDonald's shooting was a hate crime, investigators are considering all possibilities.
Tatyana K. Woodard, community affairs manager at the Mazzoni Center, said that she first met Jackson-McDonald four years ago at a candlelight march organized in memory of Shantee Tucker, another trans woman who was killed in 2018.
Woodard called attention to the history of violent deaths of transgender people, specifically transgender women of color, who have been killed in the region, including Mia Green, Tameka Washington, Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, Stacy Lee and Nizah Morris.
Four transgender or gender non-conforming people have been killed in the Delaware Valley so far this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Matthew Angelo Spampinato, 21, of New Castle, Delaware was killed in February. Miia Love Parker, 25, of Chester, was killed in April, and Maddie Hofmann, 47, of Malvern, was killed in May.
"I just want the world to know that Diamond was my rock, my shoulder, my child whom I love with every inch of me of what I have left to give," said Linda Jackson, Jackson-McDonald's mother. "Whoever you are, you took away my gem, my Diamond, someone whom was all about her family and friends. You tore many hearts and we will not rest until we get justice. I will not sleep until you are caught."
People with information about the death of Jackson-McDonald can contact Philly police by calling or texting their tip line at (215) 686-8477, or by submitting an anonymous online form.