Tahiry Broom’s family is mourning the 29-year-old Black transgender woman’s tragic death and demanding to know why she was shot and killed earlier this month.

“You wanna be angry, you wanna be sad, you wanna cry, you wanna scream,” Broom’s aunt Patricia Bender told WXYZ, describing her niece as a Nicki Minaj fan who loved to make others laugh.

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Her friend called out his “rude” courtroom behavior, pointing out that it showed a lack of remorse.

“You just wanna know why, like why did you do that?” Bender said. “Why do you feel like she deserved for that to happen.”

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AS CBS News Detroit reported, police found Broom’s body in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Southfield, Michigan, after responding to a report of an unresponsive person on the morning of February 9. She had been shot in the right side of her head and died at the scene.

Police later arrested 28-year-old Robert Ridges III at Detroit’s MGM Grand Casino, charging him with second-degree murder, carrying concealed weapons, and felony firearm possession in connection with Broom’s death.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, Ridges arranged to meet Broom near his apartment building after connecting with her through a commercial sex advertisement. The two reportedly argued, and Ridges allegedly shot Broom.

Police found a gun that had been reported stolen in 2023 at Ridges’ home, which they believe to be the murder weapon, according to CBS New.

Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said that Ridges may have specifically targeted Broom, as he made over 30 calls to sex workers who were mostly Black and transgender women on the morning of the murder. According to WXYZ, Barren noted that on the morning of the shooting, Ridges had no money “to pay for services” but was carrying a gun.

“Tahiry Broom had family and friends who loved her,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a February 12 press release. “She did not deserve to die, and her killer will be brought to justice.”

“She was brilliant, vibrant, and confident,” Bender wrote of Broom in a GoFundMe campaign seeking donations to cover the cost of memorial service and other expenses. “She loved her friends and family. She was very outgoing and resilient and loved to live life to the fullest. Genuinely one of the sweetest souls you’d ever meet and would give anyone the shirt off her back.”

In a statement responding to both Broom’s death and the horrific murder of Sam Nordquist, National Black Justice Coalition director of public policy and programs Victoria Kirby York decried the epidemic of fatal violence against transgender Americans, which disproportionately affects Black trans people.

“The fact this epidemic of violence against the trans community has continued for so many years makes me sick,” York said, according to the Advocate. “And the truth is this epidemic is likely to continue as we now have a president who has directly targeted trans people and is trying to erase them and all they have done for this country. In the face of this, we have to stand with and for the trans community. We must protect them in any way we can, bring attention to the issues they face, and push back against anti-trans legislation.”

Last year, Everytown for Gun Safety released data showing that of the 35 transgender or gender-expansive people murdered in 2023, 80% were killed with a gun, and half of those were Black transgender women.

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