NBCWashington reports that police answered a report of an unresponsive woman on a sidewalk at 11:55pm, 600 block of 59th avenue. Zoe Spears, 23, a transgender woman declared dead at the scene of East Avenue from multiple gunshot wounds. Spears marks the tenth known transgender woman this year, all are women of color.
Spears was once homeless and living on her own. Her death came two months after the unsolved murder of Ahsanti Carmon. Spears told her friends that she had witnessed the murder and feared for her life, so much so that she was planning to move from her apartment in East Avenue.
Prince George County Police Major spoke to the press saying,
“There’s no direct link that we see at this point, but that is obviously something we are monitoring very closely.What we will say to the community that is out there is look out for each other. I still can't say that these two cases are related to each other." It’s unusual that we had two murders like this within a couple blocks of each other.”
Trans Activist Earline Budd urged for caution and told the public,
“She was just trying to make it and just trying to survive on the street, and that is very difficult.. I’m really pleading with the community and others to be aware and do not go on Eastern Avenue. Please, please, please, just... don't go there. We've had two murders. We don't want another murder."
At the moment no motive or suspects have been released. if someone should have any information please contact Prince George's County Police at 301-772-4925.