Trans Youth 25 and Under Represent nearly 50% of the Reported Violent Deaths in 2024 — Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

On December 1, 2024, the body of Ra’Lasia Wright was discovered in Minneapolis. She was just 24 years old. Nearly a month later, police have not identified suspects or released information about the case. To date, media coverage has been limited mostly to local media outlets. Even the national LGBTQ media has failed to acknowledge this recent incidence of terrible violence. Ra’Lasia (sometimes styled Ralasia) was a 24 year old Black trans woman of Puerto Rican descent.

Her life mattered.

16 days later, the body of Cam Thompson was found in Tuscaloose, Alabama. She was 18 years old at the time. The teenager who shot Cam has been identified and arrested. He is awaiting trial. Cam’s murder has received some national media coverage.

Cam’s life mattered.

It has been a brutal year for transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth. Young people 25 and under represent nearly 50% of the violent deaths in the US I documented during 2024 (33.) During this year, I also memorialized five other trans youth 25 and under whose deaths in previous years only came to light this year. Five out of seven people in that category; the ages of the other two are both still unknown.