Ousman Ceesay’s father-in-law spoke out after the 44-year-old gunman killed two men outside a Tucson gay bar and then himself.
Jeff Capara, father of slain photographer Cameron Davis Capara, 33, delivered a eulogy this week remembering his son as a man who refused to judge others. The elder Capara spoke at a vigil honoring both victims, which drew hundreds to answer a haunting question Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, had posed to his sister just six days before his death.
“He cared deeply about people in Tucson or those thousands of miles away. People who were marginalized, overlooked, or misunderstood,” Jeff Capara said of his son.
“One of the things I admired most about him was that he didn’t judge people. He believed that everyone had their own story, their own struggles, and their own reasons for being who they were.
“He wanted people to have the freedom to simply be themselves without being judged for it. And in the same way, he didn’t want to be judged himself. He wanted to be accepted for who he was.”
Capara spent years documenting LGBTQ nightlife, campus demonstrations, rallies over Gaza and protests against ICE. His portfolio captured communities he moved between with what friends and family described as genuine care rather than detachment.
Siqueiros’ sister, Kate Marquez, addressed the same crowd with words that channeled her brother’s final phone call. “At one point, Vincent wondered aloud, ‘If something happened to me, who would actually be there?’ That was six days ago,” she shared at the memorial.
“Vincent, look who’s here. Tonight, thousands of people have answered my little brother’s question. And I wish more than anything he could stand here where I’m standing and see this for himself.”
The violence that claimed both men erupted around 12:30 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of Venture-N, a Tucson establishment. Police confirmed Ceesay confronted and shot Capara and Siqueiros, two men he did not know, before turning a 9mm handgun on himself.
Detectives discovered a note on Ceesay’s body listing other gay-friendly businesses in the area, though he never attempted to enter Venture-N itself. A second note found at his home “indicated he acted alone and that this shooting was a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community,” the department stated.
Ceesay had relocated to Tucson from Oklahoma City only in December, according to the Arizona the outlet. The 44-year-old, originally from The Gambia in West Africa, had no prior contact with Tucson police. He and his wife had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018, the outlet reported, citing debts exceeding $76,000.
A cousin told the Arizona the outlet that Ceesay previously drove for Uber and practiced Islam, praying five times daily.
The shooting has drawn attention from multiple angles online, with some outlets emphasizing the gunman’s Muslim faith and others focusing on the victims’ activism, including Capara’s pro-Palestinian photography. Tucson police have maintained that the attack was motivated by anti-LGBTQ hatred based on the evidence recovered.
Arizona authorities continue to investigate the circumstances that led Ceesay to target the two men.