Dustin Parker, a 25-year-old trans man, was shot and killed in McAlester, Oklahoma during the early hours of New Year’s Day, local news stations News on 6 and KTUL report. It is believed to be the first known violent death of a trans person this year in the United States.

According to News on 6, the McAlester Police Department responded to a 911 call from a witness who heard gunshots around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Investigators believe that Parker was shot to death while working as a taxi driver due to several bullet holes found in his taxi cab windows. No arrests have been made yet. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents are assisting local police with the investigation.

Parker, a businessman and LGBTQ+ activist, is survived by his wife and four children. A Facebook fundraiser has been started in order to raise money for Parker’s family in the wake of his death. A candlelit vigil and benefit show for Parker will be held tonight (January 3) at Fat Mary’s in McAlester.

At the time of his death, Parker was believed to be working for Rover Taxi, the cab company that he co-founded in September 2019 with his friend Brian West. According to their social media, the company was offering free rides to inebriated passengers after their New Year’s Eve festivities.

“Rover Taxi is devastated at the loss of a member of our Rover family,” Parker’s employer wrote in a statement shared January 1. “Dustin was a steadfast friend, an amazing husband and father and generous to a fault. He loved fiercely, worked tirelessly and took on life with so much hope and enthusiasm that his presence brightened all of our lives.”

Parker was also a founding member of the McAlester Chapter of Oklahomans for Equality, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Yesterday, the organization lowered the transgender flag in Parker’s memory.

While the motives behind Parker’s murder are not yet known, his death is emblematic of a larger epidemic of violence against trans people, both in the U.S. and worldwide. According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 25 transgender or gender non-comforting people were killed from anti-trans violence last year alone, with a disproportionately high amount of victims being Black trans women. (This number is likely a low estimate due to the fact that these cases often go unreported or misreported.)

In statement, the Oklahoma chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (a part of Everytown) mourned Parker’s death. “Dustin Parker should still be alive,” wrote volunteer Hannah Parker. “My heart goes out to his wife, to his four children, to his friends, to his fellow members of Oklahomans for Equality, and to every trans, non-binary, gender-nonconforming child and adult in this state who heard this news and felt a little less safe. Dustin Parker got to see the start of this decade, but he should have gotten to see a lot more.”

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