Police in Asheville, North Carolina, shot and killed a man who allegedly opened fire on a gay bar from its parking lot after being kicked out of the establishment.
Shakey’s — which markets itself as a “gay dive bar for drag, karaoke, DJs, cheap drinks, patio hangs, dance parties, and late-night pizza” — said in a statement posted to Instagram that an individual “whose behavior caused concern” was asked to leave the bar during the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 15. He was later seen with a gun in the bar’s parking lot.
When staff and customers became aware of the armed man, they locked the doors, called 911, and followed the dispatcher’s instructions, moving everyone away from the windows and onto the floor. Gunshots were then fired outside the bar.
Asheville police officers arrived at the scene and returned fire, striking the man, who later died from his injuries, according to a post on the department’s official Facebook page. No officers were injured in the altercation.
In accordance with protocol, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the officer-involved shooting. No additional information, including the name of the man who was killed, has been released.
Shakey’s confirmed that no staff members or customers were injured in the shooting. The bar reopened for regular business on Wednesday afternoon.
“For almost four years, Shakey’s has been a place where people come to feel safe, welcomed, and part of a community,” the bar wrote on Instagram. “Our hearts are with everyone who was there last night. Even when no one is physically hurt, experiences like this leave people shaken, and we know many of our staff, customers, neighbors, and first responders are still processing what happened today.”
A Jacksonville man who shot his LGBTQ neighbor, leaving him partially paralyzed, has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
In May, Tyler Getchell, 30, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted manslaughter for shooting 24-year-old Kyle McFarlane during a dispute over alleged trespassing. He was initially charged with attempted murder.
According to the Florida Times-Union, Getchell's attorneys requested a "downward departure," or a less severe sentence, arguing that he had no prior felony convictions, had served five years in the U.S. Navy, expressed remorse for the shooting, and remained at the scene rather than fleeing.
Niger's military junta has enacted a new penal code criminalizing homosexuality.
The West African nation is the latest African country to criminalize homosexuality, just months after Senegal doubled the penalty for consensual same-sex relations.
The new penal code, which took effect on June 11, punishes anyone who "commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts" with five to 10 years in prison and a fine. How authorities would determine what constitutes an "asexual act" remains unclear.
A Clovis, New Mexico, man was arrested on federal charges after allegedly posting threatening comments targeting a Pride festival in nearby Lubbock, Texas.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Michael Kenneth Thompson, 44, allegedly made the threatening comments on June 27 in response to a Facebook post about Lubbock Pride Fest 2026 published by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
In response to the post, numerous Facebook users -- many from West Texas and New Mexico -- disparaged LGBTQ people, labeled them "mentally ill" or sinful, or called for the festival to be "burned down."
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