LA Trans Woman Shot & Killed While Looking for Help

A transgender woman from Los Angeles was shot and killed early Wednesday morning on the front porch of a home as she pounded on the door looking for help, according to police.

The New York Daily News reports Deshawnda "Tata" Sanchez, 21, was discovered by the homeowner around 4 a.m. on Dec. 3 after she was shot a number of times. KTLA-TV reports that a neighbor's surveillance camera captured the incident and that the Los Angeles Police Department is currently searching for the killer.

"She was definitely at that door, pounding on that door seeking help," LAPD Detective Christopher Darling told KTLA-TV.

The footage shows a car allegedly drive up to the home, someone run out, go inside the home, run back to the car and peel out in reverse. Police believe the person is the one who shot and killed Sanchez.

Family told the news station that Sanchez did not live in the home where she was killed, however, and that they have no idea what she was doing in south L.A.

The video shows Sanchez fleeing her attacker but police are calling the attack a robbery, with Darling saying "at this point we cannot say it's a hate crime but we have not ruled out that as being a possibility."

The Los Angeles Times reports that Sanchez is at least the third transgender woman to be killed in Southern California since June.

Trans activist Zoraida "Ale" Reyes, 28, was found dead on June 12 and Aniya Knee Parker, 47, was shot dead on Oct. 2 in East Hollywood.