Tucson Gay Bar Shooting: Police Records Show Planned Anti-LGBTQ Attack

Police records detail planned anti-LGBTQ attack at Tucson gay bar that killed 2

By: Christine Nicco/TRT Reporter—

TUCSON, Ariz. — In the hours after a gunman shot two men in the parking lot of Venture-N, a longtime gay bar in central Tucson, police described the attack as a targeted act of hate. One of the men later died inside the bar. Newly reported police records point to planning that began days earlier — and to lives remembered by friends and family for generosity and hard-won joy, according to Arizona Public Media’s report on the records.

Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, were shot shortly after midnight Aug. 31. Ousman Ceesay, 44, also died after suffering a gunshot wound, authorities said. The Associated Press reported that both victims died at the scene; Tucson Sentinel reported that police said Ceesay had no known connection to them.

A Tucson Police Department search of Ceesay’s home found evidence that he acted alone and that the shooting was “a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community,” the department said in a statement reported by KOLD. Police also said Ceesay had a list of LGBTQ-associated businesses, The Associated Press reported.

In a Sept. 25 article, Arizona Public Media, (republishing reporting by Lookout News), records reviewed by detectives indicated Ceesay bought a handgun Aug. 28, then purchased ammunition and practiced at a Tucson shooting range the next day. Investigators also found a handwritten list naming three other LGBTQ-friendly bars and notes indicating he had watched the area around Venture-N. The report did not identify the other venues.

Detectives also recovered torn writings from Ceesay’s apartment that, according to the records described by AZPM, expressed an intent to kill gay people. The reporting described evidence of anti-gay intent; police reiterated that there was no known prior connection between the victims and Ceesay.

Police Chief Monica Prieto said investigators were examining the evidence and pursuing leads.

“Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community,” Prieto told The Associated Press.

For the families, the loss was not an abstraction about motive or an entry in a police report. It was the absence of two men whose names, loved ones said, should be remembered alongside the violence that took them.

At a candlelight vigil in Catalina Park on Sept. 2, Siqueiros’ sister, Kate Marquez, recalled a phone call with her brother six days before his death. He had wondered aloud who would show up if something happened to him. “Vincent, look who’s here,” Marquez told the crowd. “Tonight, thousands of people have answered my little brother’s question,” Arizona Public Media reported.

Capara’s father, Jeff, described his son as someone whose concern for others showed up in ordinary acts of kindness.

“He didn’t just talk about caring; he lived it,” he said at the vigil, according to KOLD.

The attack shook a community for which Venture-N had long served as a gathering place. At an early memorial outside the bar, Tucson resident Scott Blades told KOLD it was “a really important community gathering spot” and “always been a safe place for people to come.” According to other media reports, Venture-N reopened to patrons within days.

Police are investigating the killings as a hate crime. Ceesay’s death means there will likely be no prosecution, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement reported by KOLD. The records described in the latest reporting offer a fuller account of what investigators found, but they cannot replace the people Siqueiros and Capara were to those who loved them.