I am saddened and dismayed to learn of the spate of violence against trans people that has hit Washington, DC.

Deoni Jones, a 23 year old transgender woman was fatally stabbed on Thursday night at a bus stop in North-Eastern Washington just a few days ago.

Police, understandably, are hesitant to jump to the obvious conclusion that this is a hate crime, but I suspect they will in time.  And this is why:

A little further research reveals that there were 3 reported shootings of transgender people in D.C. over the summer, and all in the same general neighborhood.  The stories all seem similar – someone just walking up to a trans person, asking for the time or something, and then immediately pulling out a gun and taking a shot at them. (See the Washington Post article.)

And, these followed that ugly episode at a Baltimore McDonald’s – Baltimore is not that far North-East of Washington, which I reported to you here.

You don’t have to be a Mensa member to see a disturbing trend here.  Every one of these attacks was perpetrated on a trans person by one or more African-Americans.  Obviously, there is a need for community leaders on both sides to get together to discuss the problem, why it is happening, and what can be done about it.