Two patrons and suspect die shortly after midnight Monday
The Tucson Police Department is investigating a shooting outside Venture-N, a gay bar, that left two patrons and the suspected gunman dead as a possible hate crime. Police identified the victims as Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, and said the suspect, identified by police as 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, allegedly killed them in the bar’s parking lot shortly after midnight Monday. Ceesay, who had suffered gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to a department news release.
In the news release, the Tucson Police Department said “initial evidence suggests that the suspect confronted the victims in the parking lot of the business” and that “after confronting Mr Siqueiros and Mr Capara, the suspect shot them.” Police said Ceesay “was in possession of a note with several LGBTQIA+ associated businesses written on it.” Tucson police said the investigation remains active and ongoing and that “there is no known active threat to the community.” The department has increased its presence around other gay-friendly businesses in the region.
Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement that “we recognize this incident may cause fear and pain within our community” and that the city “is, and always has been, a diverse community where people of different backgrounds, identities and experiences call this city home.” Prieto said the department is “committed to ensuring every member of our community feels safe, valued and welcomed.”
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero called the shooting “a direct and devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community, another senseless act of gun violence.” Romero said “this tragedy serves as yet another painful reminder that homophobia is still rampant in our country” and added: “We must implement smarter policies to prevent mass shootings and keep our communities safe. Easy access to firearms and Arizona’s weak gun safety laws continue to put all of us at risk.”
Two acquaintances of the victims spoke to the Tucson Sentinel about them. Peter Loya, a Venture-N patron who said he had known Siqueiros for about 20 years, described him: “He’s always just been a thoughtful, considerate person, always looking for the best in people.” Drew Fellows, a friend of Capara, described him as a “revolutionary” photographer who was “always with a people-first mentality.” Fellows said Capara “always fought for and believed in a better future, for himself, for his community and, most importantly, for everybody.”
In June 2016, a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 58 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in what was at that time the second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. A 2020 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances found that LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. are 2.7 times more likely than cisgender, heterosexual people to be victims of violent crime.