African American Transgender female, Tyianna Davarea Alexander, age 28, was shot and killed in Chicago in the early morning hours of January 6, 2021.
Just before dawn, gunfire erupted in the 800 block of West 75th Street on the South Side, where a shooter in a silver-colored vehicle opened fire; Alexander was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
A companion, 31-year-old Brandon Gowdy, was also hit and rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later
died.
Reports after the shooting described a drive-by attack from a moving car, a burst of violence that ended two lives within minutes and left a quiet stretch of roadway cordoned off by detectives.
In the first days that followed, advocacy groups identified her and shared details from witnesses and police summaries that pointed to the passing vehicle, the rapid sequence of shots, and the immediate pronouncement of death at the scene.
Her death resonated widely.
National and local organizations memorialized her, noting that this killing marked the first known violent death of a transgender or non-binary person reported in the United States in 2021, even as some initial accounts misidentified her.
Friends and community advocates gathered remembrances, and local outlets revisited the case later that year to underscore both her age, 28, and the unresolved questions that remained.
Funeral services took place the following week, with mourners honoring her life in Chicago churches and inviting donations to support community groups serving transgender people.
Memorial pages and obituaries recorded her full name and dates, preserving the essentials of who she was while tributes described a young woman remembered by family and friends.
Authorities opened a homicide investigation immediately, but public records and subsequent reporting did not indicate that any suspect had been identified, or an arrest made.
Months later, local coverage still described the case as unsolved; years on, available public sources continue to show no announced arrests in connection with the shootings that killed Tyianna Davarea Alexander, age 28, and Brandon Gowdy, age 31.
