A Black transgender woman was shot and killed late last month in Milwaukee, marking the third known death of a transgender individual in the city since June. At least 29 transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary people have been killed in the United States this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
The victim, Regina Allen, who also went by Mya, told investigators prior to her death that she was speaking to 31-year-old Clayton Hubbird at a gas station on 19th Street and National in Milwaukee on August 29, according to a criminal complaint acquired by Gay City News. Allen subsequently walked away from the gas station and allegedly entered Hubbird’s Chevy Tahoe down the block, at which point the pair traveled to Allen’s apartment near 26th Street and Wells.
Upon arriving at the apartment, a witness allegedly saw two people arguing in the back of a black SUV — and moments later, Allen yelled out, “I’m shot.” She managed to call police and she briefly spoke to first responders before she died on the scene.
Security camera footage captured the incident, which allegedly showed the vehicle sitting in the roadway “for some time” before Allen exited the front passenger seat and started walking towards the apartment building. At that point, Allen was shot and fell to the ground. The Tahoe then fled the scene, though police found what appeared to be the same Tahoe at Hubbird’s residence the following day, and his sister confirmed that it was his vehicle.
Police went on to search Hubbird’s home, revealing “a significant amount of unfired firearm ammunition and firearm magazines,” the complaint states.
The Milwaukee district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hubbird has yet to be arrested, though he has been charged with reckless homicide and authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.
Allen was killed just over two months after another Black trans woman, Brazil Johnson, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in the vicinity of Teutonia and North Avenues in Milwaukee. The most recent media reports in that case indicate that nobody has been arrested in connection to that case.
On July 16, a 34-year-old Black transgender woman named Toi Davis died under “suspicious circumstances,” according to PghLesbian Correspondents, which is an LGBTQ blog based in Pittsburgh. There are very few details available about Davis’ death.
The 29 deaths of transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary individuals this year follows a record-shattering death toll last year. The Human Rights Campaign tallied 50 deaths last year after seeing 37 such deaths in 2020.
