'Stop Killing Us': Trans Woman Shot, Killed In Brookhaven

BROOKHAVEN, GA — A transgender woman was found shot and killed in the doorway of her Brookhaven apartment last week, and police say they do not have evidence at this point that she was killed based on her gender.

Around 8:15 a.m. May 4, Brookhaven Police Department officers responded to a report of a person shot at the Atlantic Brookhaven Apartments complex, according to a May 12 news release from BPD.

Arriving officers found 36-year-old Sophie Arrieta Vasquez — who police initially identified by her deadname, or birth name, in the news release — in the doorway of her apartment with several gunshot wounds.

Arrieta Vasquez was pronounced dead on the scene. Investigators have not identified a suspect or a motive.

"At this time in the investigation, her murder does not appear to have any connection to being transgender," a spokesperson for BPD said in the release. "However, if the evidence supports additional charges related to hate-crime (bias) they will be levied at the appropriate time."

The incident report on this case notes a homicide, but does not identify Arrieta Vasquez as transgender. The report instead identifies her as male, and by her deadname.

Matt Hennie, co-publisher and founder Project Q Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution it's common for media outlets to write crime stories without knowing the victim is transgender or non-binary, and police incident reports often have a similar problem. This leads to the victims being misgendered.

Hennie also said there are times where law enforcement agencies overlook the possibility of a bias crime, but other times it may take further investigation before police can label an incident as a bias crime.

“There clearly are incidents where law enforcement agencies look the other way and overlook the fact that it’s a bias crime,” Hennie told the AJC. “But I think a lot of cases, when that incident report is initially filled out, there may not be enough evidence to indicate that it was a bias crime through no fault of the responding officer.”

Lt. David Snively, a spokesperson for BPD, told Patch the reasons Arrieta Vasquez was identified by her deadname and as male are twofold: police reports are legal documents that have to match other legal documents registered to the person; and responding officers have no way to know a deceased victim's gender identity or preferred name until the investigation is underway.

Snively said Arrieta Vasquez's deadname and born sex were listed on her driver's license and vehicle registration.

"Despite the legal technicalities involved in reporting, we have worked diligently to refer to Sophie respectfully and as she preferred through those mediums within our control. In our very first interview at the scene we identified the victim as a female, and our press release this morning devoted a full paragraph to her preferred name and gender.

"BPD is committed to respecting the dignity of every person, and I think that our efforts in this will demonstrate that," Snively said.

Community Estrella, an organization that supports the Latinx and trans communities, is helping organize a vigil for Arrieta Vasquez. The vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at her apartment complex, located at 100 Windmont Drive in Brookhaven. The Arrieta Vasquez family also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for her funeral services, which can be found here.

“Stop killing us, we are not hurting anyone, the only thing we are doing is surviving, which is something that society imposed on us. Surviving in this very racist and discriminatory society," said Li Ann Sanchez, executive director of Community Estrella, in a Facebook message to Patch. "Why [do they have] phobia? They don’t have phobia, this is not transphobia, this is [just] trans hate, we demand justice and accountability — we will not let her death go in vain or be swept under the rug.”

Snively said he as well as other officers will be attending the vigil in memory of Arrieta Vasquez.

Anyone with information about this case, which police are investigating as a homicide, is asked to call Brookhaven Police at 404-637-0600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 404-577-TIPS (8477).