Milwaukee fatal shooting of transgender woman; man charged
MILWAUKEE - A 29-year-old Milwaukee man is charged in connection with a fatal shooting of a transgender woman on the city's northwest side on Sunday, Oct. 8. The accused is Antonio Currin – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree reckless homicide
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
Antonio Currin
"They took my baby y'all. Why did they take my baby," said Jonathan Long, JaQuez "Chyna" Long’s father.
The pain of a father show on display after his daughter, 30-year-old Chyna Long was shot and killed.
"I regret not asking her like, what's going on?" Long said.
Chyna, born Laquez Long, was a transgender woman. Her father was the only one allowed to interchange her pronouns.
Chyna Long
"I was sending him some money and I said, ‘Did you get the money Chyna?’ and he said, ‘Whoa, that doesn’t even sound right coming out of your mouth daddy. It’s JaQuez to you.’ And I said ‘Thank you,'" Long said.
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Police say Currin shot and killed Chyna Long on the morning of Oct. 8.
"I don’t know what happened. I still don’t know why he was with my son because he wasn’t a part of that community. There’s just a lot of unanswered questions," Jonathan Long said.
Jonathan Long
The criminal complaint says Currin claimed he was at work during the time of the shooting. When police checked in with his employer, they verified that Currin did not clock in until after the shooting happened.
"I feel like if it was a hate crime it should be judged different," Long said.
"Do you think it was a hate crime?" asked FOX6's Brhett Vickery.
"I know it was," Long said.
All of this coming after Long was grieving the death of his brother just a few weeks prior. Getting this call was never expected.
"I just cried for days till I couldn’t muster up tears, until my eyes started hurting. Then I made that video," Jonathan Long said.
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Since then, Long has had almost 8 million views on TikTok – and thousands of people reach out to him in support.
"It’s overwhelming, but I’m so appreciative, I’m so appreciative and I’m grateful," Long said. "We are all God’s children and I just wish we would all act accordingly."
Currin made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Oct. 15. Cash bond was set at $150,000.