Utah trans man, Alex Franco, killed in Taylorsville, Utah

Alex Taylor Franco, a 21-year-old transgender man, was shot and killed in Taylorsville, Utah on March 17. Alex’s death is at least the fourth violent killing of a transgender or gender-expansive person in 2024 in the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

“We say ‘at least’ because too often these deaths go unreported — or misreported,” HRC wrote in a statement.

Franco was initially reported as missing and abducted on March 17th after being seen getting into a white Jeep with three passengers, at least one of whom he knew. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot inside the car before it sped off with him inside, held against his will.

The Taylorsville Police Department reported his body was subsequently found with a single gunshot wound on Tuesday, March 19th, in a “remote desert area” outside Lehi.

Franco’s girlfriend, Alyssa Henry, told KUTV News that the three minors in the Jeep Liberty were “friends of friends” who were going to give the pair a ride to a local park.

Taylorsville police, however, said Franco entered the car to purchase a gun from one of the three passengers. The passengers had reportedly planned to rob Alex, but an argument ensued, leading the driver, a 17-year-old, to drive off with Alex held in the car against his will and a 15-year-old to shoot him. All three passengers were arrested, charged, and are currently in police custody; due to being juveniles, their names have not been released to the press.

At a vigil held arch 26, Alex’s loved ones described him as “an athletic, cheerful man with a big heart,” who was “so much more than just Alex.” His family and friends have also started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for funeral expenses and to support his family, stating “We love you So much Alex, we miss you. Fly high with the angles Boo. Rest in paradise until we meet again.”

“Alex was loved deeply in his life, which has tragically been cut far too short,” said Tori Cooper, Human Rights Campaign Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative. “That his killers were minors themselves only further compounds the tragedy. With his death, we have added a new state to our list of locations where fatal violence against the transgender and gender-expansive community has occurred, a list that is already far too long. The violence against our community must stop. And we at HRC won’t stop fighting until it does.”

“Over 240 transgender or gender-expansive people have been killed with guns in the last 11 years, accounting for more than 70 percent of all victims identified to date,” wrote HRC.

The rate of homicides by firearm in Utah has increased by 91 percent over the last decade, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.“

At the state level, transgender and gender-expansive people in Utah are explicitly protected from discrimination in employment and housing, but not in education and public spaces. Utah does, however, include both sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics in its hate crimes law. Though we have recently seen some political gains that support and affirm transgender people, we have also faced unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in the states. In June 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans, as a result of the more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced into state houses that year, over 80 of which were signed into law—more than in any other year. As of this writing, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced into state houses since the beginning of 2024—and two anti-equality bills have been signed into law in Utah.