TUCSON, Ariz. — Police here have confirmed that a shooting outside a gay bar last week was a targeted hate crime, as vigils for the two men killed have spread from Tucson to Phoenix over the past several days.
Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, were shot and killed in the parking lot of Venture-N, a gay bar in midtown Tucson, just after midnight on Aug. 31. The gunman, identified as 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, who was new to the area and did not know either victim, then turned the gun on himself, according to KOLD News 13. Detectives said Ceesay was carrying a note listing several LGBTQIA+-associated businesses and left behind a message indicating he acted alone and that the shooting "was a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community."
Tucson police are treating the case as a hate crime and a murder-suicide, according to the Associated Press. Mayor Regina Romero called it "a devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community" and renewed her call for stricter gun laws.
Grief Spreads Beyond Tucson
Thousands gathered at a candlelight vigil in Tucson's Catalina Park, and a second vigil, organized by businesses in Phoenix's Melrose District, lined a stretch of 7th Avenue with luminaries in solidarity days later.
"Their lives mattered, their love mattered, their truth mattered, and so do the lives of millions of people around the world right now, wondering tonight whether being fully themselves could make them the next target."
Sister of victim Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, speaking at the Catalina Park vigil
Capara's father urged mourners to respond with compassion rather than fear, telling the crowd he hoped people would "look for somebody different than you, look for a total stranger, offer them your hand, offer them a smile, and above all, if they'll take it, offer them a hug." Advocacy groups, including GLAAD, said the attack fit a pattern of rhetoric-driven violence against queer venues that has recurred nationally in recent years.
No further charges are possible against Ceesay, who is dead, but investigators say they are continuing to review his background, movements and online activity for evidence of how the attack was planned and whether other venues were considered. Tucson officials say they expect to share additional findings in the coming days.
