A transgender woman was gunned down early Thursday morning while banging on the door of a California home seeking help from her attacker, police told KTLA.
Deshawnda "Tata" Sanchez was pounding on the front door of the south Los Angeles home at around 4 a.m. when she was shot several times by an unknown assailant, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The resident at the home on South Wilton Place and West 62nd Street rushed out after hearing gunshots. But it was too late and Sanchez, 21, died on the front porch.
"She was definitely at that door, pounding on that door seeking help at the time she was shot," LAPD detective Christopher Barling told KTLA.
A neighbor's surveillance camera caught part of the chilling incident. A car is seen driving up to the house located in Chesterfield Square. Someone exits the vehicle, runs up to the porch, runs back and flees the scene, police said.
A search for the person in the car, believed to be the shooter, is now underway. Police also believe the victim was trying to escape someone who was trying to rob her.
However, there is also the possibility Sanchez's death is a hate crime.
"Deshawnda is a transgender female," Barling told the station. "At this point, we cannot say it's a hate crime but we have not ruled out that as being a possibility."
Relatives of the victim, who did not live in the south Los Angeles area, also believe she was slain for who she was.
Thursday marks the third time this year a transgender woman has been killed in Southern California that police know of, the Los Angeles Times reported.
