Laura Ann Carleton's Shooting Being Investigated as Possible Hate Crime

The fatal shooting of a California woman by a man over a Pride flag she hung at her store is being investigated as a possible hate crime, sheriff's officials have told Newsweek.

Authorities on Monday identified Travis Ikeguchi, 27, as the person who fatally shot Laura "Lauri" Ann Carleton outside her clothing store, Mag.Pi, in Cedar Glen on Friday. Ikeguchi tore down a Pride flag that was hanging outside the store and "yelled many homophobic slurs" toward Carleton before the shooting, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus told reporters on Monday.

He was shot dead later on Friday during a confrontation with sheriff's deputies about a mile from the store, Dicus said.

Mara Rodriguez, the sheriff's department's public information officer, said Ikeguchi had a history of posting anti-LGBTQ+ content on his social media accounts. "The content of Ikeguchi's social media posts contained posts critical to the LGBTQIA community," she said on Monday.

Ikeguchi's pinned post on X, formerly Twitter, featured a photo of a burning Pride flag.

Officials said the investigation into Carleton's killing was ongoing.

"We continue the investigation, and this includes the possible motive for the crime," Rodriguez told Newsweek. "The possibility of this being a hate crime is part of the investigation."

The news comes after Carleton's daughters called for authorities to investigate the killing as a hate crime.

"She was murdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront. Make no mistake, this was a hate crime," Ari and Kelsey Carleton wrote on Instagram.

"Our family is broken. We have a long road ahead of us as we navigate this new reality without our loving matriarch." Carleton is survived by her husband and seven other children.

The death is just the latest attack on the LGBTQ community and its allies, advocates say.

"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," Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of advocacy group GLAAD, said in a statement.

"No one should feel unsafe or be attacked for who they are or for simply supporting the LGBTQ community. Lauri's murder is the latest example of how anti-LGBTQ hatred hurts everyone, whether they are LGBTQ or not."

There were at least 350 anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism incidents between June 2022 and April 2023 in the United States, according to a report from GLAAD and the Anti-Defamation League.

In June, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in response to the record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills sweeping state houses this year.