Above: A vigil for Ashanti Carmon, who was also killed in D.C. in 2019.

The body of a transgender woman was discovered in an abandoned apartment complex on December 30 in Washington, D.C. a day after private security guards exchanged gunfire with an unidentified individual.

According to NBC Washington, police said guards were responding to a report of a possible intruder at the building on Sunday, in the 4200 block of Barnaby Road SE, and discovered an armed suspect. The suspect and a guard fired on one another and the suspect fled. Police responded with a K9 unit but were unable to locate the suspect.

On Monday, police returned following a report of an unconscious person at the complex, whose body showed signs of trauma that was likely the result of the shootout. They also discovered a handgun at the scene. Authorities are withholding the victim's name until the family can be notified.

"We believe that the person who we found deceased in the vacant property was the person who was involved in the exchange of gunfire with the security guard," Police Chief Pete Newsham said during a press conference.

"It doesn't add up," said D.C. advocate Earline Budd, who questioned why police didn't discover the woman, whom sources say was in her twenties, until the following day. Budd added she hopes they are able to "get to the true bottom of it."