Communities grieving beloved SoCal store owner killed over Pride flag: 'Everyone loved her'
CEDAR GLEN, Calif. (KABC) -- Laura Ann Carleton, a married mother of nine children, was a popular clothing store owner and designer who was killed allegedly by a gunman who authorities say tore down a Pride flag outside her Cedar Glen business and shot her after making homophobic remarks toward her.
In the days following her death, loved ones have been remembering her as they continue to process what happened.
Her two shops - in Cedar Glen and Studio City - stand 90 miles apart. But the sentiment outside of both stores is closer than ever.
Rainbow flags glitter the Lake Arrowhead area store where she was killed over those very colors. In Studio City, the love spilled from her shop to her neighbor's.
RELATED: Suspect in fatal shooting of Cedar Glen store owner identified
"Everyone loved her. I mean she had a big, huge clientele and they've been texting me and saying did I hear?" business owner Dana Kathryn told Eyewitness News. "We're just in shock. Absolute shock."
Carleton was killed Friday outside her Mag Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Cal State San Bernardino professor Brian Levin has studied hate crimes for decades and has seen them spike within the LGBTQ+ community, most recently by double digits.
"Los Angeles city had the most hate crimes reported last year of any city this century and New York was second," Levin said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department does not have record of any anti-LGBTQ+ crimes this year until this one.
The killer was shot dead by authorities after he allegedly opened fire on them. He was identified as Travis Ikeguchi, 27.
In 2021, Ikeguchi tried changing his name, but ultimately didn't.
He had no known criminal history within the county. Ikeguchi, who lived in Cedar Glen, posted anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media, sheriff's officials said.
"There is no guardrail anymore, particularly online, when many estranged, troubled or angry people now go - where they have their bigotries amplified, solidified and further defined," Levin said.
Family reported Ikeguchi missing the day before the murder.
Levin urges those who know someone who may be violent to reach out.
"I think those of us in the community of tolerance must understand that we have to meet people where they are," Levin said. "And sometimes that means tough discussions."
