DETROIT, MI -- The body of

Calvin Curtis Lipscomb was burned so badly she couldn't be identified for 11 days. Mary Mazur, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, said the victim died of a shotgun wound.

The office identified the 53-year-old with the help of a cousin who provided fingerprint data on Nov. 19.

The killing has alarmed many in the LGBT community who say Lipscomb lived a transgender lifestyle and identified as a woman. Lipscomb's burned body was found in a trash bin on Woodward near Six Mile and Palmer Woods Park, an area that became home to a large portion of Detroit's gay population in the 1960s and 1970s.

"

We are saddened and angry to hear of the murder of another transgender woman of color who has yet to be identified," said Yvonne Siferd, director of victim services for Equality Michigan, in statement issued Nov. 15 . "The undignified way in which her body was dumped speaks to the larger issue of anti-transgender hostility in our society, and the vast amount of work we, as supporters of the LGBT communities, have in front of us.

"We know that transgender women of color are the most disproportionately affected by violence and hate against the LGBT communities, and this latest incident is a tragic reminder of that reality."

Jerry Peterson is director of the Ruth Ellis Center, an organization that advocates for LGBT youth located near where Lipscomb's body was found. Peterson hasn't spoken directly with anyone who knew the victim but said it is rumored among attendees of the center that Lipscomb was transgender.

It "highlights the fact that there is ongoing violence against people who identify as transgender," Peterson said. We're "encouraging the young people who come to the center to be involved in safety planning."

Peterson said Palmer Woods Park is a gathering spot for people from the LGBT community.

"There's a long history there and it is also a location for some sex workers, some of whom are transgender, in that particular part of town," Peterson said, "so safety in that area is a real concern for us and the young people who are extremely vulnerable.

"Some of them have to engage in sex work in order to simply survive."

Curtis Lipscomb is the 10-year director of KICK, a black gay and lesbian advocacy organization in Detroit.

Curtis Lipscomb said he has never met the victim. The fact that they share the same last name, and his first name is the same as the victim's middle name, is purely coincidental.

After the killing, he received calls from people concerned that he was the victim.

"It's just very sad about how this person passed away and my condolences go out to the family," he said.

Detroit police have not called the killing of Calvin Lipscomb a hate crime nor confirmed that Lipscomb was transgender.