Here Are the Trans Americans Killed in 2022 So Far

Transgender woman Maddie Hofmann, 47, was shot to death by police in Malvern, Pa., May 19.

Police were called to Hofmann’s home to do a wellness check after receiving a report that a woman there was having a mental health crisis. Hofmann approached them outside the house, holding a handgun and a cell phone. Hofmann dropped the gun at one point, and then picked it up inside the house and struggled with an officer for it. Hofmann then pointed it at the officers, and then one of them fatally shot the trans woman.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the footage and determined that the use of deadly force was justified because “the police officer had a reasonable belief that his life, and the lives of others, were in danger of serious bodily injury or death,” District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a press release.

Hofmann’s loved ones took issue. “Maddie’s family is devastated by this loss,” her sister Emily Flynn wrote on a GoFundMe page. “Nationwide, police are usually the first responders to people with mental health crises. They are often not trained to provide proper support and the results have been deadly and devastating. Maddie’s family wishes to elevate this important issue so that it does not happen to another person ever again.”

The money raised will go toward scholarships for Hofmann’s two children, cover some of the legal fees involved in assuring the shooting is fully investigated, and, if enough is available, start a foundation or scholarship fund for trans young people in the foster care system, according to Flynn.

Hofmann was born in Korea and adopted by an American family. They grew up in Vermont and New Jersey. They leave a wife, Rebecca Hofmann, and children aged 9 and 3.