Police in Arizona say a shooting at a Tucson gay bar that left three people dead, including the shooter, is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, were shot in the parking lot of Venture-N shortly after midnight Monday, and both died at the scene, the Tucson Police Department said. The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, 44, also suffered a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the department.
Ceesay was carrying a note that listed several LGBTQ+-associated businesses, according to a police news release, and initial evidence suggests he confronted the two victims in the parking lot before shooting them.
The investigation is ongoing, but there is no known active threat to the community, police said. Still, the department has increased its police presence around other gay-friendly businesses in the region.
“Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community,” Chief of Police Monica Prieto said. “Our investigators are thoroughly examining the evidence and pursuing all available leads as they work to establish the full circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.”
The police department released few details about the shooting and did not say whether Ceesay knew the victims. The department also declined to immediately release details about Ceesay’s manner of death beyond saying he had a gunshot wound. The department’s public information officer, James Horton, said investigators were awaiting details from the medical examiner to confirm Ceesay’s injuries.
Flowers, candles and photos marked a growing memorial to Siqueiros and Capara outside the bar Tuesday, and several community groups, including Tucson Queerstory, Southern Arizona Senior Pride and the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, were planning a candlelight vigil for Wednesday night at a local park.
“Venture-N has been a safe haven, a sanctuary, and a place of comfort for Tucson’s queer community for decades,” PFLAG Phoenix wrote in a social media post. “This tragedy is a heavy and painful reminder of the homophobia and hate that still exists.”
The shooting left members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies across the country shaken, stirring memories of other fatal attacks, including July’s deadly Berlin Pride attack and the 2022 shooting at a nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., that left five people dead.
NYC Pride noted on social media that June 12 marked the 10th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., when 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded. The Pulse massacre was, at the time, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“Our bars, clubs, and local gathering spots are meant to be safe spaces for our community. Tragedies like this are a painful reminder that too often, they are not,” NYC Pride wrote on Instagram.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the shooting at Venture-N was a “direct and devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community, another senseless act of gun violence.”
The shooting “serves as another painful reminder that homophobia is still rampant in our country,” Romero said in a video posted to Facebook.
Boone writes for the Associated Press.
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