TDoR 2018 / 2018 / May / 21 / Gigi Pierce


Gigi Pierce

Age 28

21 May 2018
Portland, Oregon (USA)
Shot

TDoR list ref: tgeu/21-May-2018/Gigi Pierce

Gigi Pierce
Gigi Pierce [photo: intomore.com]

Gigi was shot on the sidewalk on Southwest 2nd Avenue sometime before 11:08pm on Monday 21st May 2018. She died at the scene.

Sophia Adler (33) has been arrested and charged with murder.

According to friends Gigi was in the early stages of transition, and was homeless at the time of her murder.

My Bébé was an incredibly loving, gifted, beautiful disaster," says Jason Johnson, who formerly dated Pierce. "I don't want her to be reduced to a statistic, a number, or a stereotype."

Friends described Pierce as both "full of laughter and light" and "deeply troubled." She grappled all year with transitioning, starting to identify as Gigi. Many in Portland's LGBTQ community still knew her by her male-assigned name and pronouns and did not know she was trans, according to friend Dawn Higgins-Wither.

Local news station KATU spoke to a witness they called Amber:

"I heard Gigi say, 'Don't touch me,'" Amber told KATU. "And the woman came up and hit Gigi in the face with her purse. That kinda set Gigi off. Gigi went to hit her, pulled back to hit her and the next thing I know my ear's ringing. There had been a gunshot. It all happened so fast. It always does. It all happened so fast."

The Advocate and Oregon Live, 23.05.2018

https://intomore.com/impact/Slain-Portland-Woman-Was-In-The-Beginning-Stages-of-Transitioning-Friends-Say/dc4a8115b9e94e46

https://transgriot.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/number-11-rest-in-power-gigi-pierce.html

http://katu.com/news/local/police-murder-suspect-sophia-adler-arrested-after-womans-shooting-death-in-downtown-portland

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/05/police_investigating_death_of.html

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/woman-charged-with-murder-after-downtown-portland-shooting/283-557029196

http://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2018/05/22/a-transgender-woman-was-shot-and-killed-in-downtown-portland-last-night/

Report added: 1 Sep 2018. Last updated: 13 Jan 2021

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This site contains reports of violence against transgender people, and links to detailed reports which contain graphic imagery.

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