BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — From Ohio to New York, massive protests broke out, with protesters shouting, "Black trans lives matter," after a string of transgender murders.

The latest one― 25-year-old Riah Milton, a transgender woman — was gunned down last week in the Cincinnati suburbs.

“He was shot, shot in the head,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.

While using her birth name and gender, the Butler County sheriff insisted that she was not targeted because she was transgender.

“This person was lured there to be robbed and to have his car taken and to have his belongings taken, a fight ensued and he was killed,” Jones said.

The sheriff's words left not only her grieving family, but an entire LGBTQ community even more upset because of the pronouns he used in that press conference.

“We can honor someone by respecting their identity, even if we don’t understand it,” said Advocate & Transgender Health Educator at Equitas Health Johna Yokoyama.

Yokoyama, a transgender man himself, says the pronouns the sheriff used perpetuates what he knows first-hand.

“I’ve had ribs broken, I have been kicked, I have been urinated on,” said Yokoyama.

He says that violence against transgender people is a part of a bigger problem.

“All of this time, nearly eight years now, I have averaged losing a client a month to suicide or murder,” he said.

He’s an advocate and educator for transgender health and he says the problem is compounded for trans people already struggling.

“We get many, many calls from people who are struggling in various ways, be it mental health, with being suicidal, with domestic violence, with homophobia, immigration issues, you name it,” said Yokoyama.

These are problems they’re trying to help with and what they’re protesting to end after another transgender woman was killed.

The sheriff has not returned calls for comment, but a spokesperson has publicly said the gender information came from family.

Milton’s family did not respond to messages for comment.

So far, two people were arrested in her murder.