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.”
San Francisco's oldest gay bar, the Stud, had its Instagram account temporarily suspended last week after at least one user reported its posts for allegedly promoting "human trafficking," its owners told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Stud primarily uses its social media accounts -- including Instagram, where it has more than 30,000 followers -- to promote its parties, concerts, and drag events. But the bar's co-owners say the suspension hampered its ability to promote recent events and may have resulted in lost revenue.
As the weekend approached, Honey Mahogany, a local activist and one of the bar's co-owners, explained the suspension in a video posted to her Instagram account. The bar is owned and operated by a worker cooperative known as The Stud Collective.
"We currently have only one gay bar in Northern Virginia -- Freddie's Beach Bar in Arlington," says SC Nealy. "Freddie's is wonderful and has been a great thing to have in our community, but we don't have any female-centered spaces in the area. And I've repeatedly heard how often people want that and have looked for that."
Nealy aims to change that by opening a lesbian bar in Arlington by the fall of 2027. A licensed professional counselor and owner of the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, she is currently searching for a suitable location.
She plans to name the venue Lilli's Bar in honor of the late Dr. Lilli Vincenz, a pioneering activist and the first lesbian member of the Mattachine Society of Washington.
Long Beach police arrested a man accused of making violent threats in the comments of a social media post promoting the Big Gay Flotilla, an annual informal gay beach party and meet-up where attendees bring pool floats and water gear to swim, sunbathe, and socialize.
The man was among several people who commented on an event flyer posted to the Instagram account of Long Beach Classic, a local news website. The AI-generated flyer promoted the "Big Gay Float Party in Long Beach," scheduled for August 8 at Horny Corner in Belmont Shore, and depicted gay men in swimming trunks, including one wearing a rainbow-colored thong and walking into the water.
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