A business owner was fatally shot on Aug. 18 after someone allegedly took issue with a Pride flag she had displayed at her clothing store in Lake Arrowhead, California.
Deputies responded to the Mag Pi clothing store at 5:00 p.m., where owner Laura Ann Carleton was pronounced dead at the scene, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. The suspect, who was not identified, fled the scene on foot.
“Through further investigation, detectives learned the suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton,” the press release said.
The suspect was armed when confronted by deputies and was killed in “a lethal force encounter,” the sheriff’s department said. An investigation is ongoing.
The Mag Pi store website described Carleton as a mother of nine and has been “married to the same man for 28 years.” Carleton, who went by Lauri, studied at the Art Center School of Design and had a long career in fashion, including 15 years as an executive at Kenneth Cole, the site said.
Mountain Provisions Cooperative, a local grocery store, said in a Facebook post Saturday that Carleton had been pivotal in helping organize a free store after a blizzard hit the area earlier this year.
“Lauri was a pillar in our community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice,” the post said. “If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about.”
The store encouraged people to “fly your flags in honor of Lauri.”
Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ said on Instagram that Carleton did not identify as a member of the queer community but was an advocate “for everyone in the community.”
“Lauri’s unwavering support for the LBGTQ+ community and her dedication to creating a safe space within her shop touched the lives of many,” the organization wrote in an Instagram story. “Her untimely passing in a senseless act of violence has left us all deeply saddened.”
Comments on the organization’s social media offered condolences to Carleton’s family and paid tribute to her contributions around the Lake Arrowhead community. Some said that the Pride flag at Mag Pi helped make them feel welcome and safe in the area.
“Bridesmaids” film director Paul Feig was among those in the comment section, saying that Carleton would be “sorely missed.”
“Lauri was such a wonderful person, so full of life and love,” Feig wrote. “She always made us laugh and always laughed with us. Her commitment to the community in general and the LGBTQ community specifically was just one of her many wonderful qualities.”