By Staff Reporter |
A shooting outside a Tucson gay bar earlier this week by a Muslim immigrant took the lives of two men, one of whom happened to be a sympathizer to the Palestinian cause.
The victims were Cameron Davis Capara, 33, and Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42.
Capara was an active Antifa activist who worked with the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance and regularly protested against immigration enforcement, the pro-life movement, and President Donald Trump.
Although Siqueiros had a smaller online presence, he did share posts that indicated contempt for those to the right of the political spectrum, including one AI-generated video depicting President Donald Trump being knocked out from a punch to the head.
The shooter, Ousman Ceesay, 44, had moved recently to Tucson. Ceesay shot Siqueiros and Capara outside the Venture-N, a gay bar, at approximately 12:30 a.m. on August 31 prior to turning the gun on himself.
Recovered among Ceesay’s possessions was a list of LGBTQIA+ establishments.
Ceesay was a naturalized citizen and practicing Muslim who immigrated from West Africa to Oklahoma on a student visa approximately 16 years ago.
Democratic and Republican leaders have divergent viewpoints about the nature of the attack.
Arizona’s top Democrats have referred to the shooting as a hate crime rooted in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments.
Reps. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), and Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03) conducted a moment of silence for the shooting victims alongside the Congressional Equality Caucus on the House floor on Wednesday.
Grijalva, who organized the observance, preceded the moment of silence with a House floor speech advocating for stricter gun control and railing against Republican-led laws impacting the LGBTQ+ community.
“This type of targeted violence does not happen in a vacuum. It is cultivated by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, laws, policies, and executive orders. And it is the direct consequence of this body’s failure to act on gun violence. Cameron and Vincent should still be alive today,” said Grijalva. “Mr. Speaker, how many more parents need to bury their children before Congress takes action to address the gun violence epidemic? How many more people need to die before this chamber stands up to the gun lobby? Our communities are sick and tired of hearing our ‘thoughts and prayers.’ We should be acting today to pass commonsense gun safety laws and to combat hate and violence targeting LGBTQ+ folks.”
Although investigators have not tied Ceesay’s attack to his religion, some Arizona Republicans are arguing the attack was more than a hate crime — they allege it was motivated by radical Islamic beliefs.
State Rep. John Gillette (R-LD30) said it was “radical Islamic terrorism” that occurred earlier this week, and that Democratic policies were to blame.
“The democrats invited these terrorists to the US that we were sent to their country to kill, so we would not have these attacks,” said Gillette. “You invited, support and have Partnerships with the enemy. Start supporting Americans! Not terrorism!”
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