A transgender woman was found fatally shot at an apartment complex in southwest Atlanta.
37-year-old Ashley Burton was found at the Elite at City Park apartments on Fairburn Road on Tuesday morning, according to 11 Alive. Officers said they were called at 4:22am and found the victim on the breezeway outside the unit. Police believe the victim was shot inside an apartment and collapsed where she was found.
Police believe it was a domestic-related shooting.
“She ran out of the house, hollering and screaming, beating on doors,” Burton’s cousin, Ivory Carter, told 11 Alive. “This got to be personal. You shot her in her house, then you followed her outside and shot her.”
Burton was reportedly a hairstylist and makeup artist. Carter remembers her a “sweetheart.”
“She was a very sweet young lady,” Burton’s best friend told Fox 5. “She was very full of life really. It was always smiles and laughs with us whenever we work together.”
Anyone with information that could help the investigation is urged to call the Atlanta Police Department at 404-577-8477. Homicide detectives are investigating the murder, but no suspects have yet been identified by police. Carter told 11 Alive that she hopes Burton receives justice.
“I’m tired of all these incidents with transgender women just being pushed up under the rug,” she said. “We are human beings.”