25-year-old trans man dies after being shot multiple times and driving to hospital in Mississippi The victim is at least the 39th transgender or gender nonconforming person to be killed in the country so far in 2021
A black transgender man from Mississippi, died after being shot multiple times
After Mel Groves, 25, was shot, he drove himself to Merit Health Hospital in Jackson and then collapsed outside his car, according to local reports.
He was then transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he died later that day.
According to the National Black Justice Coalition, Groves was a farmer and a plant and soil scientist who loved agriculture and animals.
“There seems to be no end to the violence this year, and my heart breaks every time I learn of the loss of another trans brother,” Victoria Kirby York, deputy executive director of the NBJC, told the Daily News.
“What is even more heartbreaking is the fact that Mel expressed that he feared for his life because he was trans living in Jackson. Trans people should not have to fear violence simply because of their identity, but that is the current reality of our country.”
“This has to do with the prevalence of transphobia in our daily lives and the inaction around the epidemic of violence against the trans community,” York added.
Jackson police spokesman Sam Brown told the Mississippi Clarion Ledger that investigators are still trying to identify a motive, possible suspects and determine where the shooting occurred.
Groves is at least the 39th transgender or gender nonconforming person to be killed in the country so far in 2021, a year that is on track to become the deadliest for the community.
