Police in Prince George's County, Maryland, identified the transgender woman who was killed in a shooting in Fairmount Heights overnight.
Zoe Spears, 23, was shot multiple times near Eastern Avenue in Fairmount Heights, police said.
Spears is the second trans woman to be killed in the area this year. Ashanti Carmon was found shot to death in March, and her homicide remains unsolved. She also was shot on Eastern Avenue, and now a transgender activist is warning the community to stay away from the area.
"Please, please, please, just... don't go there," Earline Budd said. "We've had two murders. We don't want another murder."
Friends say Spears told multiple people she had witnessed Carmon's killing and feared for her life. Spears was trying to move from her apartment on Eastern Avenue because she was afraid, friends say.
"It's unsual that we had two murders like this within a couple blocks of each other," Prince George's County Police Major Brian Riley said. "What we will say to the community that is out there is look out for each other. I still can't say that these two cases are related to each other."
PGCPD and the Fairmount Heights Police Department went to the 600 block of 59th Avenue at about 11:55 p.m. after receiving a report of an unresponsive woman being found on a sidewalk.
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Police said she had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spears went from being homeless to living independently with a dream of being a lawyer. Friends remember her for her independent spirit and love for life.
Transgender individuals, especially women of color, face extraordinary levels of violence and assault, the National Center of Transgender Equality says.
Police do not yet have a motive. Anyone with information is asked to contact Prince George's County Police at 301-772-4925.
