Fierce LGBTQIA+ ally, 66-year-old Lauri Carleton, was shot dead Friday night over a Pride flag she displayed outside her shop.
Lauri Carleton owned the Mag Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen, California. After receiving reports of a shooting, police arrived to find her wounded. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A person suspected of the shooting fled the scene on foot. The suspect subsequently died in an armed confrontation with police.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said a Pride flag outside Lauri’s store triggered the incident.
“Through further investigation, detectives learned the suspect made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.”
Tributes
Friends paid tribute to Lauri Carleton on social media.
Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ posted that Lauri helped everyone.
Today was a very sad day for Lake Arrowhead and for the LGBTQ community. Our friend and supporter Lauri Carleton @magpi_shop was murdered defending her lgbtq+ Pride flags in front of her store in Cedar Glen California. Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+, but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community.
Mountain Provisions Cooperative encouraged everyone to fly their flags in honour of Lauri.
Lauri was a pillar in our community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice. If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about. She was a force, she loved to crack jokes and wanted to live as joyful of a life as possible. We will continue to stand for the values she so selflessly stood for. Her death will not be in vain 💗
Fly your flags in honor of Lauri 🏳️🌈 love will prevail. Please respect the privacy and be respectful of family and friends grieving this horrific loss 💔
Sending love to our entire community, especially our queer community. Stay safe friends.
Also: Beyoncé honours gay man murdered in suspected hate crime.
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Life NO parole to killer…very sad xx
Ask and thou shall receive Georgina. Definitely no parole in this case. The killer, who it turns out had a history of anti-LGBT social media posting and personal harassment, died in a shoot-out with police about an hour after he shot Lauri.