Philadelphia man, 24, charged with 'beating up young transgender woman and then shooting her to death'
- Keisha Jenkins, 22, was found dead in the early hours of October 6 after she had been assaulted and shot twice in the back
- She was pronounced dead minutes after arriving at hospital
- Police arrested Pedro Redding, 24, on Sunday after a tip-off
- He has been charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons charges
- Investigators believe about four other men were involved in the attack
- Redding has a history of prior assault and weapons convictions
A man has been charged with murder over the brutal shooting death of a transgender woman in Philadelphia last week.
Keisha Jenkins, 22, who lived in Logan, south of the city, was shot twice in the back as she got out of a car about 2.30am last Tuesday.
Homicide detectives arrested Pedro Redding, 24, on Sunday after receiving a tip.
He has been charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons charges, however police do not suspect a hate crime.
Keisha Jenkins, 22, who lived in Logan, south of the city, was shot twice in the back as she got out of a car about 2.30am last Tuesday. Pedro Redding, 24, was arrested on Sunday and charged.
Scene: Police say Jenkins was set upon by five guys after getting out of a car on Wingohocking Street, near 13th Street in Hunting Park, about 2.30 a.m. on October 6
Following an investigation, they believe the motive for the murder was robbery, NBC reported.
Police say that Jenkins had been dropped off by a car on Wingohocking Street, near 13th Street in the Hunting Park neighborhood and was approached by a group of five men.
The men attacked her and Jenkins fell to the ground during the beating.
One of the men then pulled a gun and shot her twice in the back.
Police were called to the scene amid reports of a robbery.
Jenkins was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead minutes after arriving.
Capt. James Clark of the police homicide division said that minutes before the victim was attacked, she had been dropped off by a car.
She was then set upon.
Clark said police did not believe that Jenkins knew her attackers, or had any prior contact with them.
However the investigation is not over and police are still seeking those men.
Redding has a long list of prior offenses, according to NBC, and previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and weapons charges for an unrelated 2014 incident and was sentenced to five years probation, according to court records.
He was also previously arrested for drugs, robbery, weapons charges and assault, according to investigators.
Jenkins was discovered not far from a children's playground and transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead early last Tuesday
Footage taken by WPVI shows that the scene of the crime was just yards away from a children's playground.
Police are now searching for any surveillance footage that might shed more light on the horrific attack.
They are also looking for the driver of the car that dropped Jenkins off a long way from her home in north Philadelphia prior to the attack, Philly.com reports.
Nellie Fitzpatrick, who is the liaison to the LGBT community for Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, said: 'This type of wicked, inhumane violence just has no place here. We can't take any more. It's just too much.'
Jenkins is the second transgender woman killed in Philadelphia this year, according to Philly.com/
In May, Londyn Chanel, 21, was stabbed to death, allegedly by Raheam Felton, a man from Southwest Philadelphia who was dating one of Chanel's housemates.
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