Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Suspect Dead After California Business Owner is Killed Over a Pride Flag
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
August 21, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CEDAR GLEN, Calif. — A dispute over an LGBTQ+ pride flag at a California clothing store spiraled into deadly violence this weekend when a man shot and killed the 66-year-old business owner right in front of her shop, authorities said.

The man ran away from the store after the shooting Friday night but was later found and killed in a confrontation with officers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The agency said Laura Ann Carleton was pronounced dead at Mag.Pi, the store she owned and operated in Cedar Glen. The small community in the San Bernadino Mountains is roughly 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Before the shooting, the man “made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store,” sheriff’s officials said.

It was not immediately clear what happened when officers confronted the man, whose identity hadn’t been released as of Sunday.

Carleton, who preferred to be called “Lauri,” is survived by her husband and nine children in a blended family.

An LGBTQ group in nearby Lake Arrowhead said Carleton didn’t identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. But she spent time helping and advocating for everyone, and was defending her Pride flags placed in front of her shop on the night of the shooting, the group said.

There was an outpouring of support on social media over the weekend, with commenters expressing shock and sadness on the store’s accounts. Many included rainbow flag emojis.

Law enforcement agencies in several states have investigated the destruction of rainbow Pride flags as potential hate crimes in recent years.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Two Women Suspected in Targeted Shootings

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

16 minutes ago

Ray Appleton Set to Resume His KMJ Show. E Curtis Johnson Retires

30 minutes ago

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

Snack food maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain, alleging the packaging for Aldi’s store-brand cookies and...

37 seconds ago

37 seconds ago

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

4 minutes ago

FAA Demands an Accident Investigation Into SpaceX’s Latest Out-of-Control Starship Flight

10 minutes ago

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

16 minutes ago

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

30 minutes ago

Ray Appleton Set to Resume His KMJ Show. E Curtis Johnson Retires

52 minutes ago

Fresno Unified Communications Boss on Leave After AI-Generated FTA Dossier Debacle

1 hour ago

Visalia Teen Takes Second Place in Dramatic Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

2 hours ago

Newsom Tussles With Local Officials Over Homelessness

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend