Chicagoan Lisa Love was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 17. She was 35, and at the time was the 33rd transgender, nonbinary or gender non-conforming American to be killed in 2023, according to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, which closely tracks the ongoing epidemic of violence against that community.
According to family members, Love was walking home from a friend's house when a car did a U-turn and someone in that car immediately shot her. They also said they think she was targeted because some of her neighbors knew she was transgender.
Chicago Police Department spokesperson told this publication in an email statement that on the "800 block of E. 79th St. on Oct. 17, 2023, at approx. 4:03 a.m. (6th District) the victim, a [35]-year-old male, was found unresponsive outside at the above location, with gunshot wounds to the chest and back. The victim was transported to University of Chicago Hospital, where he was pronounced. Circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation. No other injuries were reported. No one is in custody at this time. Area Two detectives are investigating."
Love was born Feb. 7, 1988, on the South Side of Chicago, where she spent her childhood and teen years. She attended Kenwood Academy High School for a time and then moved to Rockford. Love moved back to Chicago when she was 31. She held a variety of jobs at small businesses in both Chicago and Rockford during her teen years and adulthood.
Love's mother Anqunettia Turman told Windy City Times that her child loved animals and should have been a veterinarian. Turman added that "Lisa's smile was infectious, and she was loved and accepted for who she was, no matter how she dressed."
Turman also told this publication that she has yet to speak to Chicago police detectives about her child's case.
Love is survived by her mother, brother, cousin Donna Frazier and countless chosen family members and friends.
Frazier told WGN that Love was "an all-around good person who did not deserve this. A loving, caring, free-spirited person. Always smiling and laughing."
Funeral services took place Nov. 3 at Greater Bethel Apostolic Church in Chicago.
WGN's report on Love's death is at https://tinyurl.com/2f5azm57.
Other recent trans Chicagoan deaths include Lovely Page and Dominic Dupree. See tinyurl.com/yc984cfu and tinyurl.com/2e552nuf .
