cbs2.com
Police believe the fatal shooting of a transgender man Saturday was a robbery gone bad, rather than a hate crime, officials said.
Juan Jose Jacobo Preciado, 26, was known as Romina. She was shot at about 4:30 a.m. in the hallway of an apartment in the 800 block of South Westlake Avenue, Los Angeles police Officer Sara Faden said.
Police were not sure that Preciado had undergone a sex change operation and would not initially release the victim?s gender.
Investigators say two male suspects approached Preciado in the hallway of the apartment building as she returned home from a night out. One of the suspects produced a firearm and took her bag, which friends say was a purse.
The suspects then forced the victim to knock on the door of the apartment. Preciado?s brother opened the front door and was assaulted by the suspects, but not injured, Faden said.
Preciado tried to run and was shot.