Lake Arrowhead store owner shot and killed over Pride flag hanging outside shop

[Nathan]

This happened Friday in our local mountain community of Lake Arrowhead


LAKE ARROWHEAD,CA A beloved store owner in Lake Arrowhead was shot and killed during a dispute over a Pride flag, officials say.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Friday at the Mag Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen.

When deputies arrived, they found 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

According to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, the suspect, who has not been identified, "made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton."

Deputies found the suspect near Torrey and Rause Rancho Roads, armed with a handgun.

"When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased," read an update from the sheriff's department. No deputies were injured.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organization spoke out about the shooting, saying though Carleton didn't identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she spent her time helping and advocating for everyone in the community.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor also spoke out about the shooting, calling it "unthinkable."

"I stand with my mountain communities as we mourn this incredible loss," she wrote in an Instagram story. "Everyone deserves to live free of hate and discrimination and practice their constitutional right of freedom of speech. Lauri was a remarkable member of the community and I send my deepest condolences to her family in this time of grief."

Carleton is survived by her husband and nine children. abc7.com

 

[Remy]

I just looked it up. What a cute store. That poor woman and her family. So senseless.

 

[Jules]

Such a sad reason to lose a respected member of the community.

 

[Tish]

Absolutely tragic.

 

[Devi]

This is so terrible. And the idiot who did it ended up deceased.

 

[Mike]

This is sad, maybe it wasn't a LBGT flag, just a colourful
flag, to cheer up the community!

Over here, during the Pandemic Lockdowns, that flag or
one very like it was dedicated to the NHS and it was seen
hanging from thousands of buildings, including homes,
shops, petrol stations, etc., even delivery trucks, maybe
the Lady died for doing good.

Mike.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I think this murder, like similar ones, indicate that there's only lip service to gay rights, racial equality, and women's rights.

 

[Chet]

I think there is a general discomfort about this LBGQXYZ thing by the public. Few say anything about it, but once in a while someone will take it to the extreme.

 

[Packerjohn]

No flag would have meant no problem. Anytime, you start making political statements of any kind, you are bound to upset some folks.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Such a senseless, tragic death! These kinds of things are happening too frequently. I'm glad they took him out. She had 9 children!! I feel so bad for her family and all who loved her. May she R.I.P.....may he burn in hell.

 

[hollydolly]

Such a senseless, tragic death! These kinds of things are happening too frequently. I'm glad they took him out. She had 9 children!! I feel so bad for her family and all who loved her. May she R.I.P.....may he burn in hell.

9 children.. wonder how she had the time to work... she was probably a real hard grafter, and this madman has destroyed her life, and that of 9 children... and extended family..over a damn flag...

However I wish we knew what the conversation had gone like... I wonder how they're sure it was about the flag ..does anyone know ?

 

[Myrtle]

This happened Friday afternoon so I thought it odd that there's no update, killer not identified, nothing. But then I remembered they are in the middle of a flood. Maybe they will update tomorrow.

 

[hollydolly]

Found a little more info on this ....

The 66-year-old mother-of-nine had remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBT+ community.

When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her store, Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up.

Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City.

Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute saying that Carleton, who he called his “wonderful friend,” had been killed by a young man.

“Her alleged murderer was later shot and killed by the San Bernardino police and so no longer poses a threat to the community,” Feig continued.

Laura and her husband... were not part of the LGBT community but she supported their rights..

 

[hearlady]

This happened Friday in our local mountain community of Lake Arrowhead


LAKE ARROWHEAD,CA A beloved store owner in Lake Arrowhead was shot and killed during a dispute over a Pride flag, officials say.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Friday at the Mag Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen.

When deputies arrived, they found 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

According to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, the suspect, who has not been identified, "made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton."

Deputies found the suspect near Torrey and Rause Rancho Roads, armed with a handgun.

"When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased," read an update from the sheriff's department. No deputies were injured.

The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organization spoke out about the shooting, saying though Carleton didn't identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she spent her time helping and advocating for everyone in the community.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor also spoke out about the shooting, calling it "unthinkable."

"I stand with my mountain communities as we mourn this incredible loss," she wrote in an Instagram story. "Everyone deserves to live free of hate and discrimination and practice their constitutional right of freedom of speech. Lauri was a remarkable member of the community and I send my deepest condolences to her family in this time of grief."

Carleton is survived by her husband and nine children. abc7.com

Sad. I feel for her family.

 

[hollydolly]

She wasn't the Biological mother of 9 children... not that it makes a difference but just saying..

 

[Myrtle]

What I want to know is who killed her and what preceded it. What kind of guy was he before this? Did he have a dozen felonies or did he start with murder now? I also want to know if anything about the original story has changed because the first story is seldom ever complete.

There must have been some conversation or maybe an argument that went before. I'm having trouble understanding why. Was there someone else in the shop that heard the conversation, assuming he didn't just walk in and shoot her.

If you don't like someone's flag then walk on. Shop somewhere else. There are lots of pride flags hanging. What made him kill this woman and not the owner of the last pride flag he saw if he hated them so much?

There's a pride flag hanging on the porch of the house behind me. As far as I know they've had no problems but I wouldn't like to think that they might.

 

[Nathan]

This happened Friday afternoon so I thought it odd that there's no update, killer not identified, nothing. But then I remembered they are in the middle of a flood. Maybe they will update tomorrow.

 

[hollydolly]

What I want to know is who killed her and what preceded it. What kind of guy was he before this? Did he have a dozen felonies or did he start with murder now? I also want to know if anything about the original story has changed because the first story is seldom ever complete.

There must have been some conversation or maybe an argument that went before. I'm having trouble understanding why. Was there someone else in the shop that heard the conversation, assuming he didn't just walk in and shoot her.

If you don't like someone's flag then walk on. Shop somewhere else. There are lots of pride flags hanging. What made him kill this woman and not the owner of the last pride flag he saw if he hated them so much?

There's a pride flag hanging on the porch of the house behind me. As far as I know they've had no problems but I wouldn't like to think that they might.

see my post above..apparently the flag was a red rag to a bull to certain members of the community.. and they kept tearing it down over a period of 2 years.. and as fast as they took it down she put it back up...

 

[davey]

we can never totally stop differences of opinion and views of each other [and probably wouldn't want to] but we can if we want stop guns?

 

[Lethe200]

No flag would have meant no problem. Anytime, you start making political statements of any kind, you are bound to upset some folks.

NOBODY has any right to shoot someone else for wanting to support a group of people who are not doing any harm to them.

Would it have been better if he'd seen two men or two women holding hands and shot them instead? I'm sure you'd agree that the shooter still would have no right to pull out a gun - or for that matter, to yell obscenities at them, which I've seen happen several times.

 

[Nathan]

Comments made on San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dept.'s Facebook post identify the suspect as Travis Ikeguchi. nbcnews.com confirms the identity: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/suspect-named-fatal-shooting-california-store-owner-pride-flag-rcna101085

 

[Myrtle]

Thanks, Nathan.

At least the taxpayers will not have to pay for a trial.

 

[Nathan]

Who-was-Travis-Ikeguchi

The tragic event has revealed that Travis Ikeguchi allegedly targeted Lauri Carleton due to his apparent intolerance and hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community. According to reports, Ikeguchi “pulled down a pride flag and yelled many homophobic slurs towards Carleton” before carrying out the fatal shooting. The act of violence not only ended Lauri Carleton’s life but also highlighted the deeply rooted prejudice that continues to persist in society.


Further revelations include that the gun used in the murder was a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which was not registered to the suspect. Additionally, it was noted that Ikeguchi’s family had reported him as missing the day before the tragic incident occurred.

 

[hollydolly]

The report says that the shooter was white.. but with his surname he sounds Japanese...

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said this evening that the man who shot and killed a California store owner over her display of a rainbow Pride flag had a history of anti-LGBTQ and anti-law enforcement social media content.


On Friday at about 5 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a person being shot at the Mag.pi clothing boutique in Cedar Glen, one of the mountain communities surrounding picturesque Lake Arrowhead. Lauri Carleton, 66, of Cedar Glen had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.


Witnesses followed the gunman from the scene, and reported the suspect as a white male wearing a reddish shirt and carrying a backpack running toward the community’s marina. When confronted by deputies about a mile from Mag.pi, he shot at deputies and struck their vehicles before he was killed by deputies returning fire, officials said. No deputies were injured in the confrontation.


Sheriff’s officials said at an evening press conference that the identification of Travis Ikeguchi, 27, was delayed as he carried no ID. The Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun he used in the shooting was unregistered, and he did not have any other firearms registered in his name in the state of California.


Sheriff Shannon Dicus said that Ikeguchi tore down the Pride flag that Carleton, a married mother of 9, displayed outside her store and “yelled many homophobic slurs” before shooting Carleton.



In a June 28 post, the Ikeguchi account — which included posts on conspiracy theories along with anti-vaccine and anti-abortion content — posted, “Abortion and same-sex marriage are both immoral and are design to destroy humanity one by one. So if someone is pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQP, they are at war against the foundation of family values. –Travis Ikeguchi 6/23/2023 6:39am”

Gab account bearing Ikeguchi’s name — describing the author as “Anti-freemasonry, Anti-zionism, Anti-jesuits, and Anti-paganism, same-sex marriage should be abolished” — pinned a post with a video titled “When You Should Shoot a Cop,” with Ikeguchi stating, “There will come a time that we have to do this.”

 

[davey]

Wot even a gay cop??