Two men were shot and killed in the parking lot of a Tucson gay bar early on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, and the man police identified as the gunman also died of a gunshot wound. Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said investigators are treating the shooting as a hate crime targeting the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
Key facts
- Victims: Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33 — both regulars at the bar
- Shooter: Ousman Ceesay, 44, who was also shot and later died at a hospital
- Location: Parking lot of Venture-N, 1239 N. 6th Ave., midtown Tucson
- When: About 12:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026
- Police finding: Being investigated as a hate crime targeting Tucson’s LGBTQ+ community
- No criminal charges expected: Because Ceesay died, no prosecution is expected
Timeline
- July 19, 2026: A separate mass shooting wounds nine people in downtown Tucson near East Congress Street; a 21-year-old suspect is arrested. No hate-crime element and no link to the Venture-N shooting has been reported.
- Aug. 31, 2026, about 12:30 a.m.: A gunman opens fire in the parking lot of Venture-N, killing Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara. The shooter, Ousman Ceesay, is also wounded and later dies at a hospital.
- Sept. 2, 2026: Police describe the case as a double murder-suicide, two days after the shooting. A candlelight vigil for the victims was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park.
What happened
Around 12:30 a.m., a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of Venture-N, a bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave. In midtown Tucson, killing Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33. A 9mm handgun and shell casings were recovered at the scene. Venture-N is described as a longtime, quiet neighborhood gay bar whose regular crowd is mostly gay men; Siqueiros and Capara were both regulars there.
The man police identified as the shooter, 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, also suffered a gunshot wound during the incident and died at a local hospital. Police say Ceesay had recently arrived in the Tucson area — one outlet reported he had relocated to Tucson from Oklahoma roughly a month before the shooting — never went inside the bar, and had no known prior criminal record in Pima County, no history in the Arizona prison system, and no prior contact with Tucson police. Investigators say they found no apparent connection between Ceesay and the two men he killed, and police have not said why those two men in particular were shot.
By Wednesday, Sept. 2 — two days after the shooting — police were describing the case as a double murder-suicide, meaning they believe Ceesay shot the two men before turning the gun on himself. Police have not said whether that has been confirmed by a medical examiner. Because Ceesay died, no criminal charges are expected, and the hate-crime characterization remains an investigative finding rather than a court determination.
Why police are calling it a hate crime
Prieto said the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. “I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” she said. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
Police said Ceesay was carrying a note listing several LGBTQIA+-associated Tucson businesses, and that a search of his home turned up further evidence supporting a targeted, bias-motivated attack. One outlet, citing unnamed sources close to the investigation, reported that the note named locations beyond Venture-N and that additional such locations were found during the search of his home. Police have not confirmed those details on the record. Police have not released the full list of businesses named in the note or said how many other locations were involved.
Not the same as July’s downtown shooting
This shooting is a separate case from a mass shooting that wounded nine people in downtown Tucson, near East Congress Street, on July 19, 2026. That earlier incident, in which a 21-year-old suspect was arrested, involved no reported hate-crime element, and no connection between the two cases has been reported.
No known ongoing threat
Police said there is no known active threat to the community following the shooting, though Tucson police increased patrols around other LGBTQIA+-associated businesses in the area as a precaution.
How Tucson is responding
The Human Rights Campaign named both victims in a statement, with HRC President Kelley Robinson saying, “We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community.” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero called it a “devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community” and pointed to what she called Arizona’s weak gun-safety laws. Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, Councilmember Miranda Schubert, GLAAD, and other local LGBTQ organizations also issued statements of grief and solidarity.
A memorial of candles and flowers has grown outside Venture-N since the shooting. A candlelight vigil for Siqueiros and Capara was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in Tucson.