The death of Alden native Trisha Nelson last week in the Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth is raising awareness of domestic violence across the state.

According to authorities, Nelson was reportedly killed after she was shot at by her boyfriend, Corey Perry, on Friday and then run down with a vehicle at a busy intersection. It was unclear whether Nelson had fled the vehicle or was pushed from it.

The couple had been together for six or seven years.

According to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, 34 people were killed by domestic violence in 2015. Of that number, at least 22 women were murdered by a current or former intimate partner, at least three men were murdered by a current or former intimate partner and at least nine friends, interveners, bystanders and family members were murdered. This number is up from the previous year.

Each of these victims is someone’s daughter, son, mother, father, sister, brother, partner, family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker.

Of the women who were killed, 11 died from gunshot wounds, four from stabbings, two from strangulation, one from beating and four from other means. Thirty-six percent of the women killed were separated or were attempting to leave their abuser. Half were still together, according to the coalition.

In 59 percent of the cases, the offender had a documented prior history of abuse in criminal or civil court.

We stand with the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women in asking that the community not let these deaths go unnoticed — and instead use them, and particularly the death of Nelson, as an opportunity to bring change to communities.

Remember, even one death to domestic violence is too many.