December 21, 2024
Cameron Thompson was shot multiple times a few blocks from his home.
Nikki Matthews-Cunningham, the mother of Cameron Thompson, the black teenager who was shot and killed in Alabama on Dec. 16, told The Associated Press that she believes her daughter was killed because she was transgender.
An 18-year-old girl was shot multiple times early Monday morning and her body was found just a few blocks from her home later that afternoon.
According to Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy, Matthews-Cunningham, 37, believes Thompson was killed because of her gender identity.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Matthews-Cunningham said“Of course it was a hate crime.” He went on to suggest that if the transgender girl had said anything about the suspicious shooting, “he wouldn’t have lured her out of her house and killed her and he did that. I hate that this happened to him because he wanted to be who he was. That’s the only reason he died.”
Capt. Kennedy said Thompson knew the suspect and that he had posted about the alleged shooter’s sexual orientation on social media before killing him.
Although the suspect is under the age of 18 and has not been identified by authorities, he is charged as an adult with Thompson’s murder.
As for Matthews-Cunningham’s belief that Thompson was the victim of a hate crime, legally, Alabama is one of nine states that does not recognize “sexual orientation, sex or gender identity as a hate crime legal classification,” as opposed to race or religion.
Sadly, regardless of the state’s narrow definition of hate crime, the Human Rights Campaign reports that at least 36 transgender people have died from violence in just one year, and more than half of those were black transgender women, drawing attention to Dangerous Intersexuality. between race and gender identity.
Alabama campaign director Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey said about the incident. “Cameron’s death is not only a profound loss to his family and loved ones, but a heartbreaking and unjust loss to the entire transgender community in Alabama. His life was important. His dreams, his light, and his infinite potential were stolen far too soon.” , conduct a transparent investigation and find some measure of justice for Cameron’s loved ones.”
Matthews-Cunningham told the AP that Thompson was just beginning his life’s journey and that he was planning to move to New York and go to college before his death.
“He was just starting out,” Matthews-Cunningham said excitedly. “He was fighting people who didn’t want to accept him for who he was. But he was such a good person.”
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