Arrest Made in Murder of Broward County Influencer ‘Girlalala,’ Highlighting Anti- LGBTQ+ Violence Crisis

NBC Miami reports that 25-year-old Shanoyd Whyte Jr. has been arrested and is facing a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of transgender Pompano Beach influencer and hairstylist Girlalala, with whom he had been in a relationship for several years. 

 Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies found Girlalala suffering from gunshot wounds in the front seat of a vehicle and rushed the victim to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Shanoyd Whyte Jr. was taken into custody at the scene, and a firearm was located. Detectives learned the two had been involved in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation inside Whyte Jr.’s car before the shooting. Surveillance video captured the suspect stepping out of the vehicle with what appeared to be a gun, then placing the influencer, who was leaning out of the passenger side door, back into the car moments before the fatal shooting.

Though Girlalala was a well-known public figure who had over 235,000 followers on TikTok, the Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the victim in their official reports as Maurice Harrison. Many LGBTQ+ advocates disagreed with this choice. 

According to the LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD, a transgender person’s chosen name—the one they go by in their everyday lives—should be considered their name, whether it has been legally changed or not. Referring to them by a birth-given name they no longer use is a practice known as “deadnaming” and can be deemed as deeply disrespectful to the victim and the wider transgender community. 

According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 27 transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals have been fatally attacked in 2025, with Black trans women facing the highest risk. 

Furthermore, a significant portion of this fatal violence comes from people known to the victim. 

More than one-third of all identified perpetrators in transgender homicides were an intimate partner, family member, or friend, according to the National LGBTQ+ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence.

The tragic death prompted widespread reaction, including from rapper JT, who used her platform to call out anti-trans and domestic violence. JT, a favorite of Girlalala’s, wrote on an expired Instagram story, “NOTHING is funny about a (domestic) violence story,” and criticized society for not taking domestic violence within the LGBTQ+ community “serious.” She lamented that stories of abuse are often treated as entertainment, stating, “I see Black cis women telling their story for laughs too, and we tune in like it’s a reality show… IT’S NOT!”

Family and friends gathered at Girlalala’s funeral to share memories of the influencer and her impact as a hairstylist.

 Her aunt, speaking to WPLG Local 10, noted that Girlalala’s bravery was a source of inspiration: “She would really just wake up and live her life. A lot of people were inspired by her just living her truth, not being afraid.”

Sign up for our weekly email newsletter and watch our weekly LIVE podcast news show every Thursday at 5:30pm. Subscribe to our YouTube page to get alerts for the show.Do you have news to share? If so, send Hy-Lo News your story ideas by clicking HERE.