Three people are dead following a shooting outside a gay bar in midtown Tucson early Monday morning, which police say is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
According to the Tucson Police Department, the incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 31 in the parking lot of Venture-N at 1239 North 6th Ave. The two victims, Cameron Davis Capara and Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, were confronted and later shot by the suspect, Ousman Ceesay.
Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. Police would not confirm to AZPM how Ceesay suffered his injuries, pending results of the medical exam.
Police said the case is being investigated as a hate crime, as the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQIA+-associated businesses.
Mark Little is an employee at Venture-N. He wasn’t working the night of the incident but lives nearby and said he heard gunshots coming from the direction of the bar around 12:30 a.m.
“I thought, ‘Well, maybe I should get up and look around and see if my neighbor's banging around or somebody's tweaking or doing something,’” he said. “I needed a glass of water and I was looking right at where the bodies were where they tried to do the CPR. I know I saw one fellow. He was probably my friend.”
Little praised the Tucson Police Department’s efforts.
“The cops were heroic,” he said. “They were there in, like, three minutes.”
Little says Venture-N is a tight-knit neighborhood bar, where “no one turns up by accident”.
“We never have bar fights. We're all neighborhood people. We all know each other. It's not a violent, dangerous place at all,” he said.
In a statement, Chief of Police Monica Prieto said the police department is increasing police presence at local LGBTQIA+ establishments.
“Tucson is, and always has been, a diverse community where people of different backgrounds, identities and experiences call this city home,” she said.
Mayor Regina Romero also released a statement on the shooting, expressing solidarity with the families of the victims.
A candlelight vigil for the victims is being planned for this Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park.
