Laura Ann “Lauri” Carleton, 66, was found with a gunshot wound Friday night at her Mag.Pi store in Cedar Glen, east of Lake Arrowhead, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. of San Bernardino County. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Through further investigation, detectives learned that the suspect made several derogatory comments about a rainbow flag, which was outside the store, before shooting Carleton,” the statement said.
The suspect, who has not been identified by investigators, fled after shooting and was later found about a mile away, still armed, authorities said.
“When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, an encounter with deadly force occurred and the suspect was pronounced dead,” the Sheriff’s Department said. “No officers were injured during the incident.”
The shooting comes as the LGBTQ+ community faces continued threats of violence and “an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in 2023,” according to the Human Rights Campaign.
“LGBTQ+ Americans live in a state of emergency. The multiplied threats facing millions of people in our community are not just perceived: they are real, tangible and dangerous,” the group’s president, Kelley Robinson, said in June when she declared a national state of emergency for the community.
“This is absolutely horrifying,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a social media post about the shooting attack. “This disgusting hate has no place in (California),” he added.
Carleton did not identify as LGBTQ+ but advocated for “everyone in the community,” the Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ organization said in a statement. “We will miss her so much.”
Carleton and her husband shared “a blended family of nine children,” the store’s website said.
Cedar Glen, a mountain community in the San Bernardino National Forest, is about 120 kilometers east of Los Angeles.
