The year 2020 may have been a difficult pill for many to swallow. However, 2021 has seemingly brought on far worse issues. In particular, the number of murders committed against the LGBTQ community continues to rise daily. Specifically, the senseless killings against black transgender women and men have been at all-time high. Despite the government’s efforts to help the LGBTQ community, it has yet to truly allow them to live free and safe lives.
Last Thursday, a driver pulling into the Madrid Apartments off Furrs Street on the city’s north side found the body of 21-year-old Kier Solomon, a black transgender woman, slumped over in a vehicle in Arlington, TX. Kier had no connection to the Arlington apartment complex where she was found, according to police, family and friends.
The driver’s side of the door was left open and the engine was still running. The police tried to perform first aid before she was transported to the Arlington Memorial Hospital. Kier died died in the emergency room at the hospital.
Strange enough, police have remained tight-lipped about the details surrounding Kier’s death, including if any of her personal belongings were stolen.
When questions of a motive arose, the police revealed that they also had no leads. When Solomon’s family asked authorities if her sexual identity led to her death, the police dismissed the assumption.
“We don’t have any information to lead us that that is the case,” Sergeant Chris Moore with the Arlington Police Department said. Authorities spoke to an unnamed witness who heard gunshots at around 9:30 p.m., the same time of Kier Solomon’s murder. However, they’re still in the process of searching through camera feeds and other witnesses in hopes of finding a suspect. The police currently do not have any theories about why she even visited the Arlington Apartments off the 1100 of Stonetrail Road.
Not even family and friends seem to have any inkling’s Solomon’s connection to the Arlington Apartment Complex. The 21-year-old lived with her grandmother Vera Solomon.
On the day of her death, Solomon came home to her grandmother’s house to change clothes but they had just missed each other. Then, two hours before her murder, police say they found Kier leaving her friend Josh’s house in Dallas.
According to family members, Solomon sometimes stayed with her friend in Arlington. However, she also crashed at another apartment complex in some other part of town. Even more unusual, she had a dog living there as well. Unfortunately, Solomon’s friend Josh couldn’t give anymore details about her stay at the other apartment.
The friend revealed that Kier said she had plans to go to Arlington that day but never said why. As if perceiving the future, Josh eerily told police, “Something in my soul told me something wasn’t right.”
Now family and friends mourn the loss of their loved one. Though, they’re trying to make the best out of a situation by honoring Solomon’s memory. Another one of Solomon’s good friends, Kenya Kartier fondly remembers acting as her “trans mother” and “teaching her.” Her other friend Oscar Pinales, whom she attended Skyline High School with, kept a close-knit group of friends around.
Not to mention, Solomon never argued or fought anyone. In fact, after graduating, she remained busy with work. Obviously, she didn’t have the time to get caught up in fights. Recently, she left her previous job at a staffing agency and worked in between jobs.
According to her grandmother, she’d been working to keep from falling behind with car payments. On a more positive note, Solomon’s grandmother affectionally described her as a good person. Her entire family said the same about Kier, indicating that she was well loved by her kin.
Right now, her family and friends are demanding answers as to what happened to Kier Solomon. Her mother, Arnitra Robinson, especially wants justice for her daughter. In a statement, Robinson expressed her hurt and distraught over her daughter’s homicide case.
“There’s no reason for why this happened,” she has said. Despite her immense loss, however, Robinson remains hopeful that the police will find the murderer behind her daughter’s death. Most of all, that the authorities will bring them to justice.