Maryland Trans Teen Tasiyah “Siyah” Woodland Killed in Shooting

Tasiyah “Siyah” Woodland, an 18-year-old Black trans woman, was shot and killed in Mechanicsville, Maryland on Friday. She is at least the eighth trans person killed in the U.S. this year, according to the tracking of the blog Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents (PGH Lesbians). 

Authorities responded to reports of shots fired in the parking lot of the bar Big Dogs in Paradise in Mechanicsville early Friday morning, according to local news outlet WMAR 2. Woodland was found dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. 

Although local media outlets have printed Woodland’s deadname, the Southern Maryland branch of PFLAG reached out to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that her real name is respected, per a Facebook post from the organization. 

While the sheriff’s office stated that it did not believe the shooting was motivated by gender identity and that there is not an increased risk of danger for LGBTQ+ residents, PFLAG Southern Maryland pointed out that “fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women — particularly black, indigenous, and people of color.”

A GoFundMe set up by Woodland’s aunt describes her as a “powerful spirit” who was “protective of those she loved.” 

“She loved to have a good time, smile and laugh and spend time with her family,” the GoFundMe reads. “She was never too far when you needed her.”

Woodland’s aunt added that the teen started transitioning after she and her three siblings lost their mom. “She got the courage to start living in her truth and started her transition, which her family accepted with open arms,” the GoFundMe reads. “For the years that god gave us her, she was a joy and made sure everyone she was around knew that they were loved.”

According to PGH Lesbians, Woodland studied at the College of Southern Maryland, and her social media was filled with “pop culture images, a lot of food and recipes, attractive shoes, and images of what she aspired for her home.” 

“She was a very real typical teenager who had a job that she described as boring, but still she went,” the blog reads. “She had hopes, ambitions, dreams. She celebrated her accomplishments and triumphs. All things she deserved, things ripped away from her by gun violence and the transphobia and misogynoir that permeates our society.”

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