California shop owner Laura Carleton killed in row over Pride flag – latest

Writer Alok Vaid-Menon has paid tribute to Laura Carleton, who authorities say was shot dead during an argument about a Pride flag hanging outside her California clothing store.

“I feel deeply saddened by this,” they wrote in an Instagram post.

“This is our country now and we can’t look away. Rest in peace Laura Ann Carleton, a mother of nine. Thank you for your allyship. Thank you for your love. I’ll never forget you.”

A California business owner and a “true ally” was shot to death by a suspect who complained about an LGBTQ flag hanging at the store.

The unnamed individual killed 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton at her business Mag Pi clothing store after making “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store”, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to the incident around 5pm on Friday following reports of shots being fired. Carleton was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Diane Anderson-Minshall, author and editor-in-chief of Go Magazine, called on the “rational world” to view the “extreme right hysteria” against the LGBTQ+ community following the death of Laura Carleton, who was a cisgender ally.

“Yesterday, I read the headline, ‘shop owner killed over rainbow flag’ and shook my head. Today, I realized that it was Laura, who I knew back when she was with Calvin Klein, and it was in liberal California,” she wrote on Facebook.

“The world of LGBTQ people and our allies sometimes feels very small in that at least for me we often know each other in some capacity. Laura, like all victims, should not just be another headline we ignore.

“The fact that even presumably straight cisgender allies are killed for supporting LGBTQ people and cisgender people are being killed as they’ve been mistaken as being trans, I have to hope that the rational world begins to see this eradication campaign and extreme right hysteria for what it is before it’s too late.”

Many Hollywood stars have reacted to the deadly shooting of Laura Carleton.

Paul Feig paid tribute to his “wonderful friend” on social media after she was killed by an unnamed gunman over the weekend.

Several of his celebrity friends also reacted to her killing in the comments under his post.

Hollywood star Charlize Theron said Carleton’s death was “heartbreaking”, while The Office star Kate Flannery wrote: “Paul! I’m so sorry for your loss. And I’m sorry for the state of the world.”

“Truly heartbreaking,” wrote One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush. US actor Timothy Omundson wrote: “It is so horrific that an expression of love and support for a marginalised community, should lead to such radicalized hatred and violence every shop in Arrowhead village should hang a pride flag to honor this brave wife and mother.”

Broad City star Abbi Jacobson has called the shooting of Laura Ann Carleton “devastating and infuriating” as the community reacts to her death.

Carleton was killed after a gunman took issue with a large LGBT+ Pride flag that was hanging outside her shop, according to police.

Several members of the California community have paid tribute to Carleton and condemned her senseless killing.

Comedian Ms Jacobson commented on an Instagram post left by comedian Bridget Everet.

“This is devastating and infuriating,” wrote Ms Jacobson.

There has been a steep rise in anti-LGBT+ hate crimes across the United States, according to a report released by advocacy group GLAAD and the Anti-Defamation League.

At least 145 incidents of anti-LGBT+ hate and extremism nationwide were recorded during Pride month this year alone, including the murder of a woman at a gas station in Texas by a stranger who had allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs, the report highlighted.

A Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Texas was set on fire just weeks after it was reportedly featured in an anti-LGBT+ video.

In November 2022, an Oklahoma donut shop was firebombed after the business hosted an art show featuring drag queens.

Comedian Bridget Everett took to Instagram to condemn Lauri Carleton’s murder.

“Lauri Carleton was shot and killed at her Lake Arrowhead store this weekend. Someone tore down the Pride flag she flew outside of her store, Magpi,” she wrote.

“She confronted him and he shot her. 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.

“All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price. And now, Lauri’s husband Bort, her daughters, friends and community are devastated. And for what?”

Paul Feig has shared a message after a friend of his was shot dead ouside her clothing shop in Cedar Glen, California.

Laura Ann Carleton, 66, who was married with nine children, was killed after the gunman reportedly took issue with a large LGBT+ Pride flag that was hanging outside her shop, according to police.

The alleged shooter, a 27-year-old man, was subsequently shot dead by law enforcement.

One of Laura Carleton’s daughters described her as a “fearless” person who put the needs of others ahead of her own.

Carleton had been a pillar in the community, said 28-year-old Ari Carleton, according to the New York Times.

The mother-of-nine converted her shop into a relief centre when a rare blizzard struck the area this year, the daughter said.

“She opened up a free shop where she and my dad just gave out supplies to those in need who had been impacted by the storms,” she said, adding: “That really sums up who she was as a person.”

The Pride flag hanging outside Carleton’s Mag.Pi store was removed numerous times by different people since the business opened two years ago, Ari Carleton said.

Democratic congressional candidate Derek Marshall said Laura Carleton was a huge supporter of the LGBT+ community and a “class act”, according to the Los Angeles Times.

He said people within the community described Carleton as “kind” and almost like a “second mom” to them. “She was very proud of flying the Pride flag.”

Los Angeles councilperson Nithya Raman expressed shock at her killing, saying she was “devastated” over the “violent attack against Studio City resident and beloved small business owner Lauri Carleton”.

“She was an ally through and through, proudly living by her values,” Ms Raman said in a statement.

“From uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community, to championing ethical fashion practices, from fundraising for the Women’s March Foundation, to supporting survivors of sexual assault, Lauri lived her life unapologetically advocating for a better, more accepting world.”