Charlotte police issue urgent warning after two trans women found fatally shot in area hotels

Update 4/17:

Police announced the arrests of Dontarius Long and Joel Brewer in connection to the murders, according to WBTV. 

Original story: 

Following the deaths of two transgender women, police and LGBTQ groups in Charlotte, North Carolina, are warning someone may be targeting and attacking the trans community.

On April 4, Jaida Peterson, 29, was fatally shot in a room at a Quality Inn near the Charlotte Douglas Airport.

Then, early in the morning on April 15, another transgender woman was found murdered at the Sleep Inn, a hotel about 20 minutes away from where Peterson died. Authorities have not released the victim’s identity pending family notification. 

Hours after the second killing, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokesman Rob Tufano noted at a press conference the “consistent similarities” between the two cases.

“Both of those victims, transgender women. Both of them sex workers. Both of them shot to death in hotels,” Tufano said. "Naturally, the assumption would be these shootings have got to be connected, right?”

He said that while authorities “just flat out do not know,” the cases are similar enough that they’ve “gotten our attention.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department urged caution until they apprehend the person or people responsible for the crimes, Durham's WTVD reported.

“Detectives have yet to determine whether the two cases are connected, but given the circumstances, the CMPD is encouraging members of the LGBTQ community engaged in sex work to exercise extreme caution and immediately report anything suspicious by calling 9-1-1,” a police statement reads.

The National Center for Transgender Equality notes transgender people face “extraordinary levels of physical and sexual violence.” 

“More than one in four trans people has faced a bias-driven assault, and rates are higher for trans women and trans people of color,” according to the organization.

Anyone with information related to the cases is urged to contact Crimestoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com.