Black Trans Teen Ariyanna Mitchell Fatally Shot in Virginia
WAVY, which misgendered and deadnamed her. The suspect, Jimmy Leshawn Williams, had been asked by his girlfriend to shoot a friend of Mitchell’s and others at the party, the friend told WAVY.Court documents cited by the station say he asked Mitchell who was involved in the dispute and questioned if she was a boy or a girl.
She said boy, although she did identify as female. He then shot her several times, police said, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Williams has been arrested and charged with murder.Mitchell was in her junior year at the East End Academy and was a dancer at the Triple E (Electra Eagles Elite) Dance Academy, an online obituary notes. “She was truly unique, funny, and loved by everyone,” the obit says. “There was never a dull moment when Ariyanna was around.”The friend who spoke to WAVY added, “She always has a big smile on her face.
Always had one. Always had one.”Mitchell is at least the 12th trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming American to die by violence this year.
