Aug. 20 (UPI) — A southern California store owner was slain in a dispute over a LGBTQ+ Pride flag and her alleged attacker was later shot dead by sheriff’s deputies, authorities say.
The San Bernadino County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office said in a report issued Saturday that deputies responded to calls of a person who had been shot in the unincorporated community of Cedar Glen, Calif., located on Lake Arrowhead about 25 miles northeast of San Bernardino.
When they arrived at the Mag Pi clothing store, they found 66-year-old Lauri Carleton with a gunshot wound.
Carleton was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the ensuing investigation, police learned that the suspected killer, an unidentified male, had made disparaging remarks about the Pride flag outside of the store and had fled on foot after the shooting.
Authorities said they located the man about a mile from the store. He was armed with a handgun.
“When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased,” the police report reads. “No deputies were injured during the incident.”
Paul Feig, director of the movie comedy Bridesmaids and creator of the Freaks and Geeks television series, said in an Instagram post he was a friend of Carleton’s and claimed the suspect was a 27-year-old man.
Feig said Carleton confronted the man after he ripped down a Pride flag hanging at her store.
“We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally,” Feig wrote. “But this intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Let’s all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Let’s not let Lauri’s tragic death be in vain.”
Actress Bridget Everett also remembered Carleton in an Instagram post, writing, “In the past, when someone took down her flag or vandalized it, she’d put up another one.”
“The last time I saw Lauri was, oddly enough, at Lake Arrowhead Pride both in the parade and then at a party,” she wrote. “All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price. And now, Lauri’s husband Bort, her daughters, friends and community are devastated. And for what?”
Detectives are continuing their investigation into the shooting and are asking that anyone with information contact the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.
