Chyna Gibson, a 31-year-old Black transgender woman also known as Chyna Doll Dupree, was shot and killed in New Orleans on Saturday, February 25, 2017, while visiting her hometown for Mardi Gras. A celebrated performer in the drag and ballroom communities who had been living in Sacramento, she returned to New Orleans to be with family and for a scheduled performance.

At about 8:30 p.m. multiple gunshots were heard in the 4300 block of Downman Road in the Pines Village neighborhood. Gibson was found in a shopping center parking lot lying between two cars with multiple gunshot wounds; emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene. Reports said she was shot ten times. The shooting was one of two slayings of transgender women in New Orleans within 48 hours, though police said the cases did not appear related.

The New Orleans Police Department released photos of two men they identified as persons of interest and later said those individuals had been located, but no one has been publicly named as a suspect and no arrests have been announced. The motive remains unclear, and it has not been confirmed whether the killing was investigated as a hate crime. Does anyone have information about Chyna’s last hours or who might be able to help bring answers to her family and community?