Making it the fourth hate based shooting in three years, another Memphis transgender woman has been shot and is in a Memphis hospital in critical condition.

Three transgender women have died in Memphis. The city has become a dangerous place for the GLBT community. Out of a total of 56 anti-gay hate crimes that were reported to  the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) in 2007, 21 of those cases occurred in Memphis.

Memphis Police say the shooting happened sometime around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 in the 3100 block of Boxtown Road in south Memphis near T.O. Fuller State Park.  

The victim, Leeneshia Edwards was last seen about an hour earlier at the “C.K.’s Coffee Shop” on Union Avenue in midtown Memphis.

My Eyewitness News reports that Edwards, is in critical condition at “The Med”.  Nicole Holliwell, her cousin,  told My Eyewitness News that  Edwards was shot in the jaw, side and back and is undergoing multiple surgeries.

The TV station said in their report that friends of Leeneshia Edwards says she worked as a prostitute.  Holliwell believes both her cousin were the victim of a hate crime and wants the shooter caught.

In early November Duanna Johnson, 43, was shot and killed. Johnson made national headlines when she was beat by two Memphis Police Officers. The beating was recorded by a jailhouse video camera and led to the firing of the two officers. Police say that shooting is under investigation and they have no solid leads.

 If you have any information about either of these cases, call Memphis Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.