HOUSTON – Police are still searching for answers after a transgender woman was killed outside of a Chick-Fil-A.
Pain still runs deep for the family of Iris Santos, a 22-year-old transgender woman who was shot to death outside of the Chick-Fil-A on Westheimer on April 23.
“Why do that? Why is my question,” Santos’ mother Maria Carreon asked.
Carreon said she found out about her daughter’s death two days later from neighbors.
While she continues to grieve her daughter’s death, Carreon said she’s also hurt by the pain and violence her daughter experienced while she was alive.
“They (would) grab a trash can and throw it at her,” Carreon said.
An anti-violence specialist at The Montrose Center, Angelic Setchell, said last year 44 transgender people were killed, making it the worst on record for transphobic violence.
“People who identify as transgender tend to experience violence at a higher rate,” Setchell said.
Police have not said Santos was targeted for being transgender, but they have released surveillance video of the man they believe killed her.
As police continue to track down the killer, Carreon tries to come to grips with reality.
“I can’t believe there are people out there that are doing this to innocent people,” Carreon said.
LGBTQ members who experience hate crimes can contact The Montrose Center for guidance at 713 529 0037.
Anyone with information on the deadly shooting is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.