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Laura Ann Carleton, a 66-year-old from San Bernardino, California, was fatally gunned down on Friday, August 18, 2023. Carleton, the owner of a clothing store in the county, was reportedly shot by a man who took issue with an LGBTQ+ Pride flag she had kept outside the premises.
After the slaying of the business owner, the armed suspect was located by authorities, who proceeded to kill the suspect after a brief confrontation. The suspect's name has not yet been released.
The death of Laura Ann Carleton has led to outrage across the country. The Guardian reported that while Carleton was not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she identified as an ally. She left behind a husband and nine children.
All there is to know about Laura Ann Carleton
According to CNN, Laura Ann Carleton was known in San Bernardino as the founder of Mag Pi, a clothing store in Cedar Glen. Paul Feig, a Hollywood director, told CNN that Carleton was a close friend who was always committed to LGTBQ+ issues. On the Mag Pi website, she stated that she had a blended family of nine children and had been married to her husband for almost 30 years.
According to NPR, Laura studied at the Art Center School of Design before beginning her long career in the fashion industry. She also worked for nearly 15 years as an executive at Kenneth Cole.
The unidentified gunman reportedly arrived at Mag Pi at around 5 pm on August 15, 2023. He allegedly began arguing with Carleton and made several homophobic slurs. When Carleton defended the pride flags, the suspect fatally shot her. After authorities arrived, they confirmed that Carleton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Several members of the community commended Laura Ann Carleton for confronting the supposed homophobe. In a public statement, the Mountain Provisions Cooperative paid tribute to Carleton. Several other members of the community also posted about the impact the business owner had in the area.
In their tribute to her, the Mountain Provisions Cooperative called Laura a "pillar" in the community and an "immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice. It added that Laura loved hard, laughed often, and protected and nurtured the people 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," the post continued.
In reference to Carleton's activism, Paul Feig also discussed how the shooting was a sign that the LGBTQ+ community needed to continue to fight against oppression.
"This intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realise 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,” he said.
The death of Laura Ann Carleton currently remains under investigation. Authorities have not yet released any further details about the shooting. While some netizens have claimed that the gunman was a Trump supporter, this has not been confirmed by local authorities.
