A transgender woman who was brutally beaten in April by a mob in a viral video was found fatally shot on Saturday morning.
Muhlaysia Booker, 23, was found laying face down on the 7200 block of Valley Glen Drive at approximately 6.40am.
Booker was pronounced dead at the scene and the victim of ‘homicidal violence,’ the Dallas Police Department said at a press conference.
Police did indicate that the death was not tied to the viral incident in April. It is currently not being investigated as a hate crime, CBS DFW reports.
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Muhlaysia Booker, 23, was found laying face down on the 7200 block of Valley Glen Drive at approximately 6.40am on Saturday morning
Booker was attacked on April 14 after an apparently minor traffic accident outside the Royal Crest Apartments Dallas, Texas.
Edward Dominic Thomas, 29, was detained on April 16 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Further charges were pending.
The attackers allegedly used homophobic slurs during the assault – captured on video – and were ‘known suspects,’ according to the police. Authorities are investigating the incident to determine if it is a hate crime.
Edward Dominic Thomas, 29, was detained on April 16 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the April 14 attack
Footage from the attack posted to Facebook shows a crowd of people form around Booker, who is wearing a pink wig and blue tank-top.
At points she appears to be saying something to the gathering onlookers, but her voice can’t be made out in the available footage.
The video appears to flip into selfie mode at one point, and the person recording appears to be laughing with a man in a white shirt and pants.
That same individual in white later appears to charge at Booker, throwing her to the ground. He then punches her repeatedly as two or three other individuals join in to kick her while she is down on the ground.
Some voices can be heard screaming for the attack to stop, and eventually Booker, after having been beaten across the parking lot of the apartment complex, is aided by a group of women who get her into a car before taking her to a hospital.
A family member said Booker received facial fractures and has her arm in a sling following the frightening mob assault, according to WFAA.
The video of the incident posted by a Facebook user Taj Mahal has garnered over 90,000 views.
Muhlaysia Booker, 23, seen standing in the street as a crowd forms following an accident in Dallas, Texas, on April 14
The person who seemingly filmed the video posed with the same man who apparently attacked Muhlaysia Booker
The man in white repeatedly punched Booker on the ground before a group of other men joined in with kicks and stomps
It was accompanied with the caption ‘THIS IS A HATE CRIME! Muhlaysia Booker Don’t Worry Sis I Got The Video For Dallas Police Department This Is A Hate Crime And Everyone Who Participated Will Be Prosecuted!’
When Booker attempted to get up off the ground, attackers continued to send her back to the asphalt
Pierre Booker, Muhlaysia’s father, called the person responsible for the attack a ‘coward,’ and told NBCDFW that his daughter has faced hatred for being a transgender woman in the past.
‘All I tell them you know is I love them. I love them for whoever they are. And I’m not God, I’m not the judge, I’m not the jury,’ Muhlaysia’s grandmother added, saying she hoped police view the attack as a hate crime.
‘So all I pray is for these people to find it in their hearts to accept people just like God does.’
Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas posted a statement to Facebook saying that he watched the video and was angered by what appeared to be ‘mob violence’ directed against the woman.
‘I am in contact with the chief and she assured me that the Dallas Police Department is fully investigating, including the possibility that this was a hate crime,’ wrote Mayor Rawlings.
‘Those who did this do not represent how Dallasites feel about our thriving LGBTQ community. We will not stand for this kind of behavior.’
Eventually a group of women are able to intervene and get in between Booker and her attackers