Police in Arizona confirmed that a shooting at a Tucson gay bar that left three people dead, including the shooter, was a hate crime.
The suspect, 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, was new to the area and did not know the victims, the Tucson Police Department said in a news release Tuesday night.
While searching his home, detectives found a note that “indicated he acted alone and that this shooting was a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community,” the department said.
Shooter confronted the victims in a parking lot outside bar
Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, were in the parking lot of the Venture-N bar around 12:30 a.m. Monday when they were confronted and shot by Ceesay, police said. Ceesay then shot himself with a 9mm handgun and never tried to enter the bar, police said.
Both Siqueiros and Capara died at the scene, and Ceesay was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Police said Ceesay was carrying a note with a list of other businesses in the region that back the local LGBTQIA+ community.
He had no prior contacts with the police department and was not prohibited from possessing firearms, police said.
Police say there is no active threat to LGBTQIA community
Officers contacted each of the businesses on the list, and the department said there is no known active threat to the community. The department is working with community organizations to provide support, and officers were expected to staff a candlelight vigil for Siqueiros and Capara set for Wednesday evening at a local park.
Rainbow-colored candles, flowers and photos honoring the pair lined the exterior wall of the Venture-N, a cozy neighborhood bar not far from the University of Arizona campus. The shooting rocked the LGBTQIA+ community in a city normally known as an affirming place to live.
Bar has been ‘a steadfast safe place’ for community
Tucson Queerstory, one of several groups organizing the candlelight vigil, wrote on social media that Venture-N has been “a steadfast safe place for Tucson’s queer community” and encouraged people to show support as the bar works to reopen.
“Tucson has long been known for its welcoming environment and strong queer community. To now add another hate crime to that history is heartbreaking and infuriating,” the organization wrote.
The group urged people to “remind ourselves that we need one another, and to remind the larger community that we are united in our right to exist.”
Family members of Capara and Siqueiros expressed gratitude and are “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love,” Tucson Queerstory wrote in a separate post.
Boone writes for the Associated Press.
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