A popular transgender performer was fatally shot outside a New Orleans shopping center on Saturday night.
According to the Times-Picayune, Chyna Doll Dupree—who also went by Chyna Gibson—was found dead between two parked cars outside a clothing store in New Orleans East around 8:30 p.m. Neighbors told police they heard between eight and 10 gunshots.
Though Dupree is from New Orleans originally, she’d toured the country and was living in California, an unidentified friend told the paper. She’d returned to her hometown to celebrate Mardi Gras—which marks the culmination of Carnaval season—on Tuesday.
“She was just a really good person,” the friend said. “Everyone loved her. This is unnecessary.”
Dupree’s friends also mourned their loss on Facebook, with one writing:
“I remember when I 1st met her at Bayou City, she embraced me with a hug & from that day on, when I was out and she saw me, she would stop me and ask ‘Oh, so you’re not hugging the doll tonight?’ I can’t begin to say how much this hurts to know u were taken so tragically. My heart breaks as this community must find a way to honor you in death and begin to move forward.”
According to Mic, Dupree’s murder marks the fifth reported killing of a transgender woman in 2017, and the third in February.