Investigations by the Tucson Police Department (TPD) in Arizona have revealed a possible motive in the August 31st double murder-suicide that occurred outside of the Venture-N-Bar, a queer drinking spot. The gun violence took the lives of 42-year-old bartender Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 33-year-old photographer Cameron Davis Capara, and 44-year-old murderer Ousman Ceesay.
A TPD search warrant seen by KVOA revealed that police found a note from Ceesay indicating that he targeted the LGBTQ+ community, which he blamed “for recent health problems.” It’s unclear what those problems might have been. Police also found notes, letters, ammunition, and electronics when searching his car and place of residence at the time of his violent act.
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Shortly after the murder, police discovered that Ceesay was carrying a note that listed several LGBTQ+-affiliated businesses, leading them to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero (D) called the crime “a direct and devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community.”
Capara was a 33-year-old freelance and nightlife photographer who was part of the informal Tucson Movement Photographers. He regularly documented social justice events, like protests against the wars in Gaza and Iran and against the recent ICE immigration raids, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
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“That was his single focus, to build a better world,” said his friend Drew Fellows. “He had so much passion and love and care.… Justice was his moral compass.”
Tucson photographer Julius Schlosburg said Capara’s work “gave our stories life [and] took them from these fleeting moments in the street, where we make sound and then it immediately disappears, and it’s like so temporal … Cameron solidified that for so many people and groups and communities.”
“He was just this calm, grounding presence,” Schlosburg said. “He was someone who brought joy and light around him…. I’m struggling to imagine what it’s going to be like showing up to a rally and him not being there.”
Mark Little, who works at Venture-N-Bar but wasn’t present on the night of the shooting, called the shooting “shocking” and said it left him “grieving, “furious,” and “confused.” He also said the bar has been “a bit quieter” since the shooting, without the usual ” the loud outbursts of laughter,” but added, “It’s not necessarily a sad place either. Not at all.”
The bar’s owner said it is considering ways to keep honoring Siqueiros and Capara’s lives.
Angel Montañez, one of Siqueiros’ friends, told the Arizona Daily Star that Siqueiros was kind-hearted, regularly welcomed new patrons to the bar, and loved anime and late-night Mexican take-out food.
“He’d always carry a big satchel bag,” Montañez said. “He had chargers, his extra cell phone. He had vitamins. If you needed toilet towelettes, an extra shirt, it was inside his bag. He was that person to say, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it.’”
Another friend, Seana Buck, said Siqueiros was “always sassy” and bonded with Buck over shopping, true-crime podcasts, drag shows, trips to the zoo, the Tucson Comic-Con, and the local Greek Festival.
Siqueiros was reportedly adopted at a young age and raised in a conservative religious household, but maintained contact with some of his family members.
“He was always so joyful. He accepted everyone,” his friend and coworker Lizzy White said. “He was probably the last person who should have been targeted for who he was.”
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