Neighbors say they heard the bullets taking the life of Debarione Seals during a 6:00 a.m. hour earlier this week.

“I heard six of them,” neighbor Ollie Carter said in an interview with FOX26. “Boom, boom, boom! Then a silence. And then boom! Then boom, boom!”

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Authorities say the alleged assailant(s) gunned down Seals at dawn in the middle of the street at the intersection of Brandon Street and Red Bud Street in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Houston on Wednesday. A neighbor reportedly found the body in front of a vacant house.

Born male, but known to be transitioning to female, investigators say Seals potentially sold her body to pay for the transition.

Seals reportedly faced one arrest for prostitution, dating back to 2015.

While said to be accepted by her family, authorities say they believe a potential customer killed Seals because of her transgender status.

“The fact that we have a man in women’s clothing,” homicide Detective Fil Waters said in an interview. “The speculation is he’s been working the street, that someone picks him up, and then realizes he’s not what he’s representing himself to be and takes this kind of ultimate action.”

Seals family said they are mourning the loss of a person they described as a beautiful soul.

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“He was a loving person,” Seals’ aunt Maria Cheeks said in an interview with FOX26. “A beautiful person. I mean yes, he can pass for a woman, because he was just that beautiful. You know what I’m saying?”


The suspect reportedly fled after the shooting, and authorities said there is no additional information to report at this time.

An investigation is ongoing.

If you would like to share information on this incident, contact your local authorities or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.