Shooting death of California shop owner over pride flag still under investigation

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has identified the man who shot and killed a business owner after a confrontation over her hanging a pride flag outside her shop.

According to the department, on Friday, Aug. 18, Travis Ikeguchi, 27, of Cedar Glen, tore down a pride flag and shouted homophobic slurs before shooting and killing Laura Ann “Lauri” Carleton, 66, outside her Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus called Carleton’s killing “senseless” at a Monday afternoon news conference.

According to witnesses, Carleton confronted Ikeguchi in the street outside of her Hook Creek Road shop. Ikeguchi reportedly shouted homophobic slurs at Carleton before shooting and killing her.

According to Carleton’s family, pride flags hanging outside her Cedar Glen store — she owned another store in Studio City — had previously been torn down and she had responded by hanging up even larger flags.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Mag.Pi store on Hook Creek Road shortly after 5 p.m. Friday and found Carleton outside the store, suffering from gunshot wound. She later died at the scene.

With the help of a witness, Ikeguchi was located about a mile away on Torrey Road, near Rouse Ranch Road, authorities said. According to the Sheriff’s Department, Ikeguchi shot at two deputies, striking their vehicles. Deputies returned fire, shooting Ikeguchi. He died at the scene.

The handgun recovered at the scene was not registered to Ikeguchi. He does not appear to have a concealed weapon permit, Dicus said.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, Ikeguchi’s family reported him missing Thursday, Aug. 17. He had not been on the department’s radar prior to the shooting, Dicus said.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, Dicus said, in case Ikeguchi was not acting alone.

“At this point, we do not believe that was the case,” Dicus said. “It was simply a single action by this suspect.”

According to the Sheriff’s Department, before his death, Ikeguchi posted anti-LGBTQ and anti-police messages on social media, including X (formerly Twitter) and Gab. On X on June 28, Ikeguchi posted that abortion and same sex marriage are “designed to destroy humanity.” And in May 2022 on Gab, he posted that there will “come a time” when it will be necessary to shoot police officers. On both social media sites, he shared conspiratorial posts about Hollywood celebrities, the Freemasons, the Federal Reserve and the coronavirus pandemic.

On her store’s site, Carleton is described as having worked in the fashion industry since she was a teenager, including attending the Art Center School of Design and working at Kenneth Cole. She and her husband lived in Studio City but had a “getaway” in Lake Arrowhead.

Two of Carleton’s nine children, Ari and Kelsey, posted on Instagram about their mother’s death.

“Our family is broken. We have a long road ahead of us as we navigate this new reality without our loving matriarch,” the post reads in part. “We find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in. She was fearless, cool and compassionate — always putting others first.”

A Lake Arrowhead vigil in Carleton’s name, originally planned for Tuesday, will be held at a later date, according to an Instagram post by the Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ organization, citing the Carleton family’s need to mourn privately first.

Celebrities connected with the LGBTQ community reacted in shock to Carleton’s death.

Director Paul Fieg mourned the death of his “wonderful friend” Carleton, in an Instagram post on Sunday.