Jazz Alford, a transgender black woman, was found dead in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, according to Mic. Her body was first found on Sept. 23, but she was unfortunately misgendered by authorities. 

“Her death was a huge hit for the LGBT community,” her sister Toya Milan told AL.com. “There was another transgender [person] shot multiple times somewhere else recently. People think [transgender people] are monsters, when really we just want to be accepted.”

“She was such a loving person and we didn’t know anybody that would want to hurt her,” said Milan, who is also transgender. “It’s been a hard pill to swallow.

Authorities say that gunshots were heard at the scene and that they were looking to find a connection between Alford and a suspect that they had in custody after being involved in a home invasion that led to the shooting of another transgender woman.

“This is the 21st homicide of a transgender or gender nonconforming person that NCAVP has responded to in 2016, one less than the number that the Coalition responded to in 2015,” Emily Waters, senior manager of national research and policy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project, said in a statement. “We must remember that these are actual lives of friends and family and loved ones who are lost.”