A 19-year-old trans student at the University of Washington has been stabbed to death, prompting a manhunt and raising concerns within the university’s LGBTQ+ community.
The student, believed to be a trans woman, was found in a laundry room at the Nordheim Court housing complex, an off‑campus facility linked to the university, late on Sunday night.
Police said officers were called to the scene at around 10.10pm on 10 May, where they discovered the victim and attempted lifesaving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her identity has not yet been made public, pending notification of next of kin.
Detectives have launched a homicide investigation and are searching for a suspect described as a man in his mid‑20s to 30s with a beard who was last seen wearing a button-up shirt and a vest with blue jeans.
Police have warned that the individual should be considered “armed and dangerous” and urged anyone with information to come forward.
No arrests have been made and investigators have not yet established a motive for the killing.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, students at the Nordheim Court complex were instructed to stay indoors and secure doors and windows as police searched the area.
The shelter‑in‑place alert was lifted shortly before 1am, although officers continued to search the surrounding area and the investigation remained ongoing.
The complex is part of the university’s student housing provision, with shared facilities including the laundry room where the victim was discovered.
University president Robert Jones said the killing was a “profound loss” and offered condolences to the student’s family and friends.
He also acknowledged the wider impact on the university community, adding that violence affecting a trans person can be “especially worrying” for LGBTQ+ students.
Support services have been made available to those affected, including counselling and wellbeing resources for students in the aftermath of the incident.
Seattle Police are leading the investigation, working alongside university authorities to establish the circumstances behind the killing.
At this stage, officials have not confirmed whether the victim and the suspect were known to each other, and no further details about the events leading up to the stabbing have been released.
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