Baltimore police identify transgender woman killed in York Road shooting
Sean Williams was killed and a 27-year-old man wounded in a York Road shooting, and police say they still have no motive or suspect.
Baltimore police identified Sean Williams, a 38-year-old transgender woman, as the person killed in a double shooting in the 5200 block of York Road, a North Baltimore corridor that carries daily traffic past homes, shops and Notre Dame of Maryland University. A 27-year-old man was also shot in the same incident and is expected to survive.
Officers responded at about 10:49 p.m. on June 23 to the 5200 block of York Road, where they found a 38-year-old female and a 27-year-old male. Police said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said they still have no known motive and no identified suspect.
Homicide detectives have taken over the case, and Baltimore police are asking witnesses or anyone with video or other information to call 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup. The shooting unfolded on a corridor many Baltimore residents know well, one described in city and community planning materials as a historic north Baltimore stretch running from the county line to 42nd Street.
The location adds to the urgency. York Road is a working commercial corridor, and the shooting happened near Notre Dame of Maryland University, putting students, staff, neighbors and nearby businesses close to a violent scene that left two people shot. The question now is whether someone in that stretch of North Baltimore saw, heard or recorded enough to help detectives identify who fired.
The case also lands in the middle of a broader pattern of violence against transgender and gender-expansive people. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation said at least 32 transgender and gender-expansive people died violently in 2024, and it has documented nearly 400 deaths since it began tracking in 2013. The Transgender Law Center says it has documented 139 reported incidents of fatal transphobic violence in the United States since 2017.
Baltimore has faced this reckoning before. After the 2024 killing of Tai’Vion Lathan, advocates and community members pressed for a serious response, and Maryland Safe Haven said similar crimes had been seen against other transgender people in the area. Williams’ killing now returns that pressure to city police and to the North Baltimore residents who may hold the next crucial piece of evidence.
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