Less than a week after the New Year, a member of the LGBTQ community was killed. According to official information, the deceased worked as a taxi driver at Rover Taxi, his car was found in the city of McAlester with multiple bullet holes
To date, the McAlester Police Department does not have sufficient grounds to claim that the victim's sexual orientation was the motive for the killing. According to police reports, the body of 25-year-old Dustin Parker was found in a driver's seat with several bullet wounds.
According to statistics from the previous year, more than two transgender people died every month in the United States.
Dustin Parker was also an active public figure in the field of assistance to LGBTQ-people. He founded the city's Southeastern Equality group, which provides resources for LGTBQ individuals, and also led the city's first Pride Parade in October.
"He was a bright, young individual with a lot of potential," Brian West, owner of Rover Taxi and a friend of Parker's told ABC News. "He could light up a room. He knew everybody, everybody knew him. He just, I think, he touched a lot of lives in our community."
The investigation continues, investigators are looking for possible witnesses. Parker’s funeral is scheduled for tomorrow.
