TUCSON, Arizona. Two men were shot dead in a bar parking lot early Monday. Police say the man who killed them then shot himself.
He was carrying a note. Police say it listed LGBTQ businesses.
Tucson police are working the case as a hate crime.
It happened at about 12:30 in the morning on Aug. 31. The spot was the parking lot at the Venture-N bar. The bar sits on North Sixth Avenue, just north of East Speedway. It has served the city's gay community for years.
Police named the two men who died. Vincent Anthony Siqueiros was 42. Cameron Davis Capara was 33. Both died right there in the lot.
The man police blame was Ousman Ceesay, 44. He shot himself. He died a short time later at a hospital.
Police say the first evidence points one way. Ceesay walked up to the two men in the lot. He got into it with them. Then he opened fire.
The note is what turned the case. Police say Ceesay had it on him. It named businesses tied to the LGBTQ community.
Sources told KVOA the note listed three other LGBTQ friendly spots. Those same sources told the station that more addresses turned up at Ceesay's home in Tucson. Police have not said that part on the record.
KVOA also reported that Ceesay came to Tucson about a month ago. He moved here from Oklahoma. He was born in The Gambia, in West Africa.
He had no criminal record in Pima County. He had never done time in an Arizona state prison.
Police Chief Monica Prieto did not soften it.
"I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community," Prieto said. "Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community."
Prieto also said Tucson "is, and always has been, a diverse community where people of different backgrounds, identities and experiences call this city home."
Police put more officers near LGBTQ bars and shops around the city. They also said there is no active, known threat to the rest of town.
Mayor Regina Romero called it "a direct and devastating attack on our LGBTQ+ community." She called it "another senseless act of gun violence" too.
U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva said much the same. "This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist," she said.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said it looks like one man acting alone. Nobody will stand trial. The man police blame is dead.
Inside the bar that night, people heard it before they saw it. One regular, a 75 year old man, told the Arizona Daily Star what he heard.
"All of a sudden we hear maybe 10 gunshots outside the door," he said. Then a man came in bleeding. "Blood coming out near his armpit. He said, 'I'm shot.'"
Mark Little works at the Venture-N. He told AZPM the cops got there fast.
"The cops were heroic," Little said. "They were there in, like, three minutes."
Little said the bar is not that kind of place. "We never have bar fights. We're all neighborhood people," he said. "It's not a violent, dangerous place at all."
Alan Clark has gone to the bar for years. "Everyone knows everyone," Clark said. "We're all friends, been friends for years."
By Monday afternoon people were already out front. They brought flowers. They brought candles. They brought photos of the two men.
Peter Loya knew Siqueiros. He called him a thoughtful and considerate person who always looked for the best in people.
Drew Fellows was a friend of Capara. He said Capara was a photographer with a people first way of working.
Rick Morey Wolfe helps run a local nonprofit called Tucson Queerstory. He said the killing was "so not Tucson."
Colete Barajas has run a business in town since 1983. She is not closing her doors.
"My door is wide open," Barajas said. "My door will always be wide open."
She said the point is not to hide. "We will not allow fear and guns to keep us behind closed doors," Barajas said.
Scott Blades put it plain. "It's just heartbreaking," he said. "Such a senseless, tragic shooting."
Tucson Queerstory set a candlelight vigil for Wednesday. It starts at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park on Fourth Avenue.
Pima County Victim Services is taking calls at 520-724-5525.
A charge is not proof. Everyone is innocent until a court says otherwise.