On Friday, 18th August 2023, Laura “Lauri” Ann Carleton was shot and killed in front of her store https://www.shopmagpi.com/ in Lake Arrowhead around 5 pm by identified suspect Travis Ikeguchi. 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton was an advocate and ally of the LGTBQ+ community and regularly displayed pride flags in front of her store. Disclosed by the Los Angeles Times, Lauri was warned by Bob Stuhr, a gay businessman who worked in the same mall as Carleton, that hanging a pride flag would “trigger” some people, which Lauri bluntly responded with, “They don’t have to shop in my store.”
Travis Ikeguchi, a 29-year-old male, killed Lauri with a handgun on Friday 18th. According to https://abcnews.go.com/US/california-store-owner-shot-dead-dispute-displaying-pride/story?id=102408818, He had a problem with the pride flag hanging outside Lauri’s store and had yelled “many homophobic slurs” before killing her. When Paramedics arrived, Lauri was found dead at the scene. Ikeguchi also died on Friday. After shooting Lauri, he fled the scene, where he was found several miles away with a handgun, which, according to https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/travis-ikeguchi-father-laura-carleton-b2397538.html “he had no registered handguns in California….and did not have a concealed carry permit.” When law enforcement found him, Travis refused to put his weapon down and got shot in a shoot-out with San Bernadino deputies despite receiving life-saving measures. Ikeguchi also had an X(Twitter) account where he had posted many anti-LGBTQ content.
Laura Ann Carelton was a beautiful and remarkable woman, and despite her not being a part of the LGBTQ community, she was a “fierce” advocate. In an Instagram post, her daughter Ari Carleton described her mother as “fearless, cool, and compassionate” and said her mother died “defending something important to her.” Her shop’s website states Lauri’s fashion career started well into her teens when she attended the Art School of Design and joined the family business at Fred Segal Feet in Los Angeles. As time passed, “she ran “the” top fashion shoe floor in the US at Joseph Magnin Century City.” Eventually, she partnered up with Kenneth Cole, where she stayed for fifteen years as an executive. During that time, she also built a business and worked with factories and design teams throughout Italy and Spain. Lauri was also a mother of nine and had been with her husband for 28 years. This couple had traveled the more significant part of the US, Europe, and South America, where they had cultivated a love for agriculture and design and gained the ability to take things slow and appreciate life’s beauty, style, and brilliance.
Many Celebrities have spoken about Lauri, like the President of GLAAD, who said, “The tragic, targeted killing of Lauri over the pride flag displayed at her Lake Arrowhead store was senseless and, unfortunately, part of a growing number of attacks on LGBTQ people and our allies,” and Jamie Lee Curtis who said “I feel deeply saddened by this….This is our country now and we can’t look away. Rest in peace Laura Ann Carleton, a mother of nine. Thank you for your allyship” in an Instagram post.
