Deadly Arizona Shooting at Gay Bar Investigated as Hate Crime

Two men were killed outside Tucson’s Venture-N bar in a shooting police are investigating as a hate crime after the suspected gunman was found with a note listing LGBTQIA+ associated businesses. The investigation remains active, and police say there is no known ongoing threat to the public.

Police are investigating a deadly shooting outside a longtime Tucson gay bar as a hate crime after finding the gunman carrying a note listing several LGBTQ-associated businesses.

The shooting killed two men and the suspected gunman early Monday in the parking lot of Venture-N, a bar at 1239 North Sixth Ave., according to the Tucson Police Department.

Officers responded around 12:30 a.m. and found three men with gunshot wounds. Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, died at the scene. Police identified the suspected shooter as Ousman Ceesay, 44, who died later at a hospital.

Investigators said Ceesay confronted the two victims in the parking lot before shooting them. Ceesay also was wounded and later died at a hospital, though police have not publicly confirmed how he was shot. Police have not disclosed a motive but said the note Ceesay carried, which listed addresses of multiple LGBTQIA+ associated businesses, led them to open a hate crime investigation.

Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto called the killings a bias-based crime.

“Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community,” Prieto said in a statement, adding that investigators are “pursuing all available leads” and that police see no ongoing threat to the public. She said officers are increasing patrols around LGBTQIA+-associated businesses.

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover told the Tucson Sentinel that because the suspect is dead, no criminal prosecution will follow, though the county has confidence police will complete a full investigation.

Venture-N has operated since at least the early 1980s and is one of the last LGBTQ bars remaining in Tucson, as other gay bars in the city have closed in recent years. Longtime patrons describe it as a low-key neighborhood bar known for its patio and pool area that also hosts a weekly gathering for a local gay men’s social group. Community members gathered at the site Monday to leave flowers and candles.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said the community is grieving after another senseless act of hate. 

“Once again, our community is grieving after a deadly and senseless act of hate. No one should have to live in fear simply because of who they are,” Ellis said in a statement. “Our hearts are with the loved ones of Vincent and Cameron, and we are grateful for the leadership shown by Tucson’s elected officials and the LGBTQ community in demanding safety and solidarity for all.”

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said the organization is heartbroken over the deaths of Siqueiros and Capara. 

“Learning the gunman was targeting LGBTQ+ friendly businesses is both chilling and enraging,” Robinson said in a statement.

The attack adds to a long history of violence aimed at LGBTQ gathering spaces in the United States. In 1973, an arsonist set fire to the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans, killing 32 people in what remained the deadliest attack on LGBTQ Americans for more than four decades; no one was ever charged. A gunman killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, the deadliest mass shooting targeting LGBTQ people in U.S. history. In 2022, a gunman opened fire at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen others on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance; the shooter later pleaded guilty to murder and federal hate crime charges.

Anyone with information about the Tucson shooting is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, the anonymous tip line.