Sikeston, Missouri, police are investigating after Nina Pop, a Black trans woman, was found dead inside of her apartment over the weekend.
According to the Associated Press, the body of Pop, 28, was found on Sunday night. Police said on Tuesday that the young woman had been stabbed multiple times.
Sikeston Police Chief James McMillen said no motive has been uncovered. However, investigators are looking into the possibility of a hate crime.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States, notes that Pop’s death is believed to be at least the tenth violent death of a transgender or gender nonconforming person this year and the fifth in the past month. All of the five recent victims were transgender women of color.
“We must be outraged by this news and we must channel that outrage into action immediately. These crimes must be reported, investigated and prosecuted. These lives must be mourned, honored and fought for. What we are doing is not enough,” Tori Cooper, the organization’s director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative said in a statement.