Tee Arnold, 36, was also known as ‘Lagend Billions’ by friends and family
A 36 year old trans man has died days after being shot in Hallandale Beach, Florida on April 3, 2024. He was rushed to the hospital where he died four days later. His name was Tee Arnold, he was also known as Lagend Billions.
The Crime
According to media reports, police responded to the 800 block of Silks Run near popular bowling after receiving reports about a shooting around 1:30 a.m. They found a 36 year old Black man still alive and transported him to nearby emergency room. Official details about the shooting are scant. The police are now searching for a female suspect, and said the suspect and victim are known to each other.
The victim’s name was Tee Arnold aka Lagend Billions. Tee was a Black trans man. Hallandale Beach is part of the Miami region of South Florida.
If you have any information on this shooting or the subject’s whereabouts, call Hallandale Beach Police at 954-457-1400 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. You can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, the early reporting misgendered Lagend and used his government name. Subsequent reports got one right, but not the other – a deliberate sowing of confusion that doesn’t keep anyone safer and certainly isn’t accurate or fair. Misgendering and deadnaming by family and friends online coupled with premature claims of his demise simply added layers of tragedy and grief.
Honoring Tee/Lagend
Tee Arnold was also known as Lagend Billions. He was a 36 year old Black trans man. Tee moved to Miami, Florida. He studied at Miami Central Senior High School, then attended Florida Memorial University. Tee was interested in travel and entrepreneurship, music, and appreciating good food.
He came from a large extended family. Tee was a significant male adult figure in the lives of his nieces and nephews. Friends, former coworkers, neighbors all seem to have stories about this man taking time to connect and listen to them, to support them especially during difficult times. These recurring themes of his compassion, kindness, and showing up wind through a lot of the countless tributes pouring in on social media.
A New mom… scared asf …. you was there for me when I was still figuring out life. I thank you for always answering the phone when I was lost, for never being afraid to tell me when I’m wrong, telling me to pray when I was weak, always offering words of encouragement.. letting me come to your grandma house just to listen to music and smoke…. sometimes I never had to say anything… in the silence you knew I just needed someone to be there… 15 years of friendship and I never thought I would be saying goodbye like this …. I’m going to miss you
CeCe Gatesthank you for blessing the world with your greatness, laughter, and good energy. Thank you for showing the world that there is nothing better than being your true authentic self. Lagend Billions
Friends say Tee was planning to go to Bali later this year to celebrate his birthday. His socials indicate he often traveled to Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and Nevada.
Earlier this month Tee posted on Facebook that there was a price on his head, indicating he knew the person threatening him. Friends and family have also referenced this, indicating police are aware of the information. One post indicated a friend was with Tee up to and through the shooting, then coming to the hospital to visit him. Without any more context that this, I hope Tee knew he was not alone either physically or in his community when he was shot and then died.
The Context
So many people loved this man. No one had the right to end his life, regardless of whatever pain led them to put a price on a human being’s life. No one seems to be challenging this narrative. It is not random. It not a robbery. Is it domestic violence? I don’t honestly know because we don’t have enough information beyond the general sense that the shooter and/or the person who hired them was known to Tee.
But as is almost always the case, the police are ready to commit that this is not likely a hate crime. You and I both know they are talking about a specific type of legal case, a hate crime versus a bias crime. But if a paid assassination is not about hate, we might need more colloquial language to describe that level of apathy and callous disregard for humanity in these crimes. Taking “hate crime” off the table at the get go limits the investigation. But we hear this time and time again.
Tee is the tenth trans person whose violent death reported in 2024 to date.. He is the fourth trans man, the eighth trans person of color (BIPOC.) As of today, we’ve reported the death of a trans person in the United States every 9.9 days in 2024. This list continues to grow. At this time in 2023, we also mourned 10 trans neighbors.
Since January 2021, we have reported on the violent deaths of twelve trans neighbors in Florida – Alexus “Kimmy” Braxton (31), Keri Washington (49), Royal Poetical Starz (26), Jenny DeLeon (21), Duval Princess (24), Nedra Sequence Moss (50), Semaj Billingslea (33), Tiffany Banks (25), London Price (26), Alexa Sokova (30), Camdyn Rider (21), and Tee Arnold (36.) Read through our archives to learn more about each of them.
Florida has been turning its back on trans folx for many years. The anti-trans rhetoric in that State is tied to dehumanizing political ambition. Each of these 12 people are more than just victims, they are literal examples of what happens when you strip entire communities of their identity, their words, their books, their healthcare, and their justice. Why do we abide by that? How long does that list from one state have to grow before people acknowledge that anti-trans bias is a significant consequence of colonizing our minds?
I do not yet have information on final arrangements for Tee Arnold.
Rest in power, Tee. Your impact across the many people in your life will not be soon forgotten. You had every right to simply go out that night with your friends without fear because of this other person’s vicious motivations. You deserved to go to Bali, to watch the children in your family grow up. Thank you for the je ne sais quoi that you manifested into the world around you. I am so very sorry we did not create a safer world for you.
May your memory be a revolution.
This is our list
This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2024. Please do not copy, modify, or share this list without attribution.
- Kitty Monroe – January 1, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona. Age 43.
- Nex Benedict – February 8, 2024. Owasso, Oklahoma. Age 16.
- Righteous Torrence ‘T K’ Chevy Hill – February 29, Atlanta. Georgia. Age 35.
- Reyna Hernandez – Between Feb 28 and March 28, location TBD. Age 54.
- Diamond Cherish Brigman – March 16, 2024, Houston, Texas. Age 36.
- Alex Franco – March 19, 2024. Salt Lake City, Utah
- Meraxes Medina – March 19, 2024, Los Angeles, California. Age 24.
- Cecilia Gentili – February 6, 2024, New YorkCity, New York. Age 52.
- Ryan Zimmerman – Sept 2015, Columbus OH Age 21 Murdered 2016, Identified 2020, reported 2024.
- Lagend Billions aka Tee Arnold – April 7, 2024, Miami, Ohio. Age 36.
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