Gay drag artist murdered in Virginia shooting

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect new information from the victim’s family and Equality Virginia about how Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray identified. Earlier versions of this story described Sanchez-McCray as a transgender woman based on initial reporting and community accounts.

The killing of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray in Virginia earlier this month was initially reported as the death of a Black transgender woman. But the victim’s family now says that the account does not reflect how he identified.

When police in Petersburg responded to a report of a shooting just before 2 a.m. on March 13, they found a person dead inside a home on Elm Street. The victim, Sanchez-McCray, was a 42-year-old drag performer and community figure with deep ties to LGBTQ+ spaces across Virginia and North Carolina. His family says he identified as a gay man and used multiple names, including Saamel and Mable.

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Sanchez-McCray was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Police have released few additional details, and no suspect information has been made public. As of this week, authorities had not indicated whether they have updated her identity or are considering a possible bias motive.

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Petersburg, a historically Black, Democratic-leaning city about 25 miles south of Richmond and roughly two hours from Washington, D.C., sits within a region where LGBTQ+ communities are both visible and, at times, vulnerable.

Within the community, Sanchez-McCray’s presence was well established. He was a frequent competitor in drag pageants, winning Miss Mayflower EOY in 2015, according to the pageant archive Our Community Roots, and later earning the title of Miss Charlotte FFI at Large in 2020, Them reports.

Equality Virginia, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that worked with the family to correct misinformation, said its own understanding of his identity was based on information shared by people close to Sanchez-McCray.

“Our update reflects information shared by individuals close to Shyyell, including family and trusted community partners connected to organizations where he was active,” Reed Williams, the group’s director of communications, told The Advocate.

Williams added that the organization was not in a position to independently verify or interpret earlier social media posts about how Sanchez-McCray may have identified at different points in his life, noting the situation is “complex and sensitive.”

Some earlier social media posts from Sanchez-McCray referenced “transitioning,” though it is unclear how he intended that term. In November, he posted a photo of himself ahead of facial feminization and rhinoplasty surgery.

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Two days before his death, he posted a short message on Facebook, writing, “Joy comes in the morning.”

Friends have also begun sharing older messages they say reflect his care for those around him. In one message from 2022, shared on social media after his death, Sanchez-McCray wrote, “Just wanted to leave you with some love in the case I don’t make it to see tomorrow. I love you and proud of you… always remain true to who you are.”

Sanchez-McCray’s funeral is scheduled for Friday in Petersburg.