Loved ones are mourning a transgender woman who was shot and killed in Philadelphia last month.
Shahere “Diamond” Jackson-McDonald was found shot to death inside her mother’s apartment on the 400 block of Manheim Street in the city’s Germantown neighborhood on the morning of November 24.
Investigators said the door to the apartment was open and there were no obvious signs of forced entry. Jackson-McDonald was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene.
Jackson-McDonald is the 35th transgender or gender-non-conforming person to be killed in the United States in 2022, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
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Jackson-McDonald’s family members, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, and members of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community held a press conference on the murder on Thursday.
“We are here today to honor a promising life that was violently ended by a person or persons that Philadelphia Police and our office are working tirelessly to bring to justice, so that they can be held accountable for this crime and are not able to cause any further harm to others. We are here to say her name: Diamond Jackson-McDonald,” Krasner said.
No arrests have been made and police have not released information on any suspects.
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If you have any information on Jackson-McDonald’s murder, call 911 or submit a tip to Philadelphia Police by calling 215-686-TIPS (8477). Tips can be left anonymously.
"I just want the world to know that Diamond was my rock, my shoulder, my child whom I love with every inch of me of what I have left to give,” Linda Jackson, Jackson-McDonald's mother, said. “Whoever you are, you took away my gem, my Diamond, someone whom was all about her family and friends. You tore many hearts and we will not rest until we get justice. I will not sleep until you are caught. You may not have to answer to me now, but you will have to answer to God. You reap what you sow."
