Police Investigate Murder of Transgender Woman in Oakland

An emergency candlelight vigil was held last night in downtown Oakland for Brandy, a black transgender woman who was shot and killed over the weekend.

By Jamilah King May 01, 2012

A candlelight vigil was held last night in downtown Oakland for a transgender woman who was shot and killed in Oakland late last week. The woman has been identified as 37-year-old Brandy Martell. [Jpmassar at the Daily Kos relayed this information](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/30/1087705/-Transgender-woman-murdered-in-Oakland-Nobody-Cares-): > A witness told ABC7 the conversation was cordial, but then.. one of the men became angry and fired into the car right where Martell was sitting. > > "When you don’t provide a space in society for people who you think are the other or different, especially transgender women, especially transgender women of color, when you don’t provide spaces for them to be in a safe environment or a safe space, whether it’s socializing or services, this is what happens," Martell’s friend Tiffany Woods told ABC7. Police are still investigating the incident, but witnesses reported to [local news sources](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/04/transgender_woman_murdered_oakland.php) that there was an altercation just before the shooting and that Brandy was shot by a man who had "become enraged and shot her when he realized she was trans."