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TUCSON, AZ — In a shocking turn of events that no one could have possibly seen coming, a Muslim immigrant from Gambia fatally shot two men in the parking lot of a Tucson gay bar Monday before killing himself, in what police have confirmed was a premeditated hate crime targeting the homosexual community.
Tucson police say Ousman Ceesay, 44, opened fire on Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, around 12:30 a.m. outside Venture-N, a longtime gay bar near the University of Arizona campus. Both victims died at the scene.
Ceesay then turned a 9mm handgun on himself, perhaps hoping to be rewarded with 72 virgins, and later died at a hospital.
Investigators said Ceesay had no known connection to either victim and had only recently relocated to Tucson from Oklahoma City.
He was carrying a written list of other LGBT-associated businesses in the area, though surveillance footage reviewed by detectives showed he never attempted to enter Venture-N itself during the attack. A search of Ceesay’s home turned up a separate note that police say confirmed he acted alone and that the shooting was deliberately aimed at the gay community, as is the religious mandate of Islam.
Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto called the killings “especially heinous” and said bias-motivated violence has no place in the city, a totally useless statement that sounds as if it came from a flashcard.
Officers have since made contact with every business named on Ceesay’s list and increased patrols nearby, though authorities say there is no known ongoing threat.
Ceesay had no criminal record in Pima County and was legally permitted to own firearms, police said. According to his cousin, interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star, he had worked as an Uber driver and was, believe it or not, a practicing Muslim who prayed five times daily.
Ceesay and his wife filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018 after accruing more than $76,000 in debt, and the couple faced eviction [much like Karl Marx] over unpaid rent as recently as last year.
Capara, a photographer, had spent years documenting the gay scene, campus life, and pro-Palestinian demonstrations and anti-ICE rallies around Tucson. His father, Jeff Capara, separately told the Star his son cared deeply about people he considered marginalized, which is weird since you can't swing a dead penguin without hitting an LGBTQ demonstration or rainbow flag.
Siqueiros’s sister, Kate Marquez, told mourners at a vigil this week that her brother had wondered aloud just days before his death whether anyone would show up for him if something happened. She said the outpouring of support since the shooting had answered that question.
Community organizations, including Tucson Queerstory and the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, held a candlelight vigil at a local park, and a memorial of flowers, candles and photographs has grown outside Venture-N in the days since the attack.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Local activists are expected to respond by demanding more diversity in immigration and a strongly worded statement against Republicans.
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