By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Police in Tucson, Arizona, said a deadly shooting earlier this week outside a gay bar was a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community.
Police provided the following details:
• The fatal shooting of two men took place on Monday in the parking lot of the Venture-N bar.
• The suspect was identified as 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• Police said they found evidence in the suspect’s residence that included a note that further indicated he acted alone, and that this shooting was a “targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community.”
• Homicide detectives have confirmed there was no apparent connection between the suspect and the victims and that there was no known active threat to the community.
• Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. LGBTQ advocacy organization, said that learning the gunman was targeting LGBTQ+ friendly businesses “is both chilling and enraging, and yet another dangerous example of the hate and bigotry that makes all Americans less safe.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Edward Tobin)
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