Sophie Lee, a 27-year-old Black transgender woman remembered for her ties to Baltimore’s ballroom community and her advocacy for trans women, was shot and killed in Baltimore on September 11.
Baltimore police responded shortly after 1 a.m. to the area of North Calvert and East 24th streets in the city’s Charles Village neighborhood, where Lee was found suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said no arrests had been made and that investigators had not determined a motive.
Although authorities initially did not publicly identify her, Baltimore Safe Haven, a Black- and trans-led nonprofit providing housing, health care and other support services to LGBTQ+ people, identified Lee as a former client and friend of members of the organization.
“This is not only a former client of ours, but is also a friend of many of the people here on our staff, and it has affected us greatly, greatly, greatly,” Baltimore Safe Haven special projects coordinator Renee Lau tells WBAL-TV.
The organization said Lee’s death had deeply affected its staff and community.
“Sophie was somebody’s child. She deserved to live,” Baltimore Safe Haven writes in a social media tribute. “Sophie deserved another birthday. Another laugh. Another chance to love, dream, and grow old. Being transgender should never cost someone their life.”
Baltimore Safe Haven later organized a vigil honoring Lee, where community members gathered to remember her life. The organization also launched a fundraiser in her memory.
Lee was raised in Baltimore and was active in the ballroom community, with connections to several houses, including Gabbana, Voltaire, Pink Lady and the House of Champions, also known as the House of Balenciaga, according to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents.
Her social media documented ballroom performances and milestones, including being named Best New Overall Mother at an event earlier this year. She also used her platform to advocate for greater inclusion of transgender women in lesbian spaces.
Baltimore Safe Haven CEO Iya Dammons urged people to remember Lee as more than a victim of violence.
“She was a person. She was loved. She mattered,” Dammons says in a statement reported by Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. “She deserved the opportunity to live, grow, laugh, love, and simply exist safely as herself.”
Lee’s killing came about 10 weeks after the shooting death of another Black transgender Baltimore woman, 38-year-old Asia Williams. Williams was fatally shot in June after leaving a convenience store. Police have said they do not believe Williams was the intended target.
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, which documents deaths within transgender communities, reported Lee as the 23rd known transgender woman killed in the United States in 2026 and said 13 of those women were Black.
Baltimore police continue to investigate Lee’s killing.
Photo courtesy of social media
