UpStairs Lounge arson attack
| UpStairs Lounge arson attack | |
|---|---|
Site of the UpStairs Lounge, 2019 | |
| Location | 29°57′13″N 90°04′03″W / 29.9535°N 90.0675°W 604 Iberville Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Date | June 24, 1973 7:56 – 8:12 p.m. (CDT) |
Attack type | Arson, mass murder, violence against LGBT people |
| Deaths | 32 |
| Injured | 15 |
| Motive | Unknown |
| Accused | Roger Dale Nunez |
The UpStairs Lounge arson attack, sometimes called the UpStairs Lounge Fire, occurred on June 24, 1973, at a gay bar called the UpStairs (or Up Stairs) Lounge located on the 2nd floor of the 3-story building at 604 Iberville Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. Thirty-two people died and 15 were injured as a result of fire or smoke inhalation. The official cause is still listed as "undetermined origin". The primary suspect, a gay man with a history of psychiatric impairment named Roger Dale Nunez who had been ejected from the bar earlier in the day, was never charged and died by suicide in November 1974.
Until the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, in which 49 people were murdered, the UpStairs Lounge arson attack was the deadliest attack on a gay club in U.S. history.