AVP is deeply concerned by a spike in violence perpetrated against transgender and gender non-conforming people. On September 23, Victoria Carmen, a 28-year-old transgender woman, was shot to death in a private residence in Maplewood, New Jersey. The case is still being investigated, and no arrests have been made. On September 13, two transgender women were found dead alongside Highway 512 in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. Both women had been shot in the head. Authorities have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the killings. These murders are the fourth and fifth that we know of in the past year that have targeted transgender and gender non-conforming people in Puerto Rico.

 Read the full text of the community alert.