Brianna “BB” Hill, an African-American trans woman who performed in several clips for Grooby Productions Black T Girls label, according to a tweet posted by Steven Grooby, was found shot to death in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday—the fourth trans person killed in that city this year alone, according to a report by local TV station KCTV.
Hill also becomes the third black trans performer in the United States to die as a result of homicide in 2019, and the 20th black trans murder victim overall.
A suspect was arrested at the scene of Hill’s shooting, which occurred at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday morning, October 14. Though police have not identified the suspect, the person did not leave the scene after allegedly shooting Hill, and apparently waited for police to show up.
“Just heard the sad and horrible news that another trans performer was killed this week—Aries who has worked a number of times on Black T-girls,” Grooby wrote on his Twitter account. “Sadly, another statistic of black trans women getting killed. This has got to stop.”
According to the Human Rights Commission, which calls the wave of violence against trans Americans an “epidemic,” there have been 150 trans people known to have been murdered in the United States since 2013. About two of every three died by gunshot.
“HRC will continue to hold the Trump administration and all elected officials who fuel the flames of hate accountable at the ballot box,” the Human Rughts Commission wrote in a statement following Hill’s death. “This epidemic of violence that disproportionately targets transgender people of color—particularly Black transgender women—must cease.”
As AVN.com reported, in May, 23-year-old Muhlaysia Booker was murdered in Dallas, Texas. Booker, who performed under the name Cashmere, has earlier been the victim of a brutal beating that was recorded on video and posted to YouTube. But police said the suspect in her slaying, 34-year-old Kendrell Lavar Lyles, had no connection to the earlier incident.
Also in May, Michele 'Tamika' Washington—a 40-year-old former trans adult performer known as Nyobi Khan, who went on to become a mentor and advocate for the LGBTQ community in Philadelphia—was shot and killed in that city. Though police did not rule out a hate crime motive, they believed that the suspect in her death, 28-year-old Troy Bailey, was attempting to rob Washington.
Photo via Human Right Commission
