LAKE ARROWHEAD, CALIFORNIA: Travis Ikeguchi, 27, has been identified by the police as the person who shot and killed Laura Ann Carleton, 66, on Friday, August 18, for hanging a Pride flag in front of her clothing store in Lake Arrowhead, California.
The accused was shot and killed by the police soon after the incident, per Daily Mail. After Ikeguchi was identified, his history of glaring homophobia has come to the fore.
Travis Ikeguchi’s social media rant against LGBTQIA+ community
Ikeguchi, who reportedly killed Carleton for her solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and for displaying a Pride flag in front of her store, has been identified for making homophobic speeches on social media.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Department’s public information officer Mara Rodriguez revealed that a day before the shooting, Ikeguchi’s family reported him missing.
Rodriguez further discussed Ikeguchi’s social media posts on X and the far right-wing social media site GAB, saying, "The content of Ikeguchi's social media posts contained posts critical to the LGBTQIA community," per ABC 7.
The outlet revealed one such post from Ikeguchi’s now-defunct Gab profile. In the post, he shared a photo of a burning pride flag. H
e wrote in the caption, "We need to stop compromising on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives. Who has the courage to post this and feel no shame of it!?"
He had also posted "anti-law enforcement content,” Rodriguez said.
In another post, he wrote, “America must repent for a lot of things we allow; abortion/baby killing, sexual immortality, pornography, same-sex marriages, LGBTQP/pedophilia, freemasonry, religiosity, politics, wars, colonialism, the federal reserve.”
His post from August 5 read, “Even though this f***** doesn't like to be labeled as LGBTQP, he is still a f***** and we should allow f***** in our society anyway even if they don't to be called these mentally ill pronouns.”
He had once remarked, “Homosexuals still at any form should be illegal.”
Why was Travis Ikeguchi killed by police?
On Friday, August 18, police responded to a call around 5 pm after getting reports of gunshots being fired. Per the police, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, reports Independent.
Authorities said that Ikeguchi shot and killed Carleton at her clothing store after making “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store.”
He was armed with an unregistered Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which he reportedly used to shoot her.
The police later confirmed that the man was killed in “a lethal force encounter” with the deputies. It is still not clear whether Carleton’s death would be investigated as a hate crime.
The sheriff’s officials said in a statement, “On Friday, August 18, 2023, at 5pm, deputies from the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station responded to a report of a person who had been shot at the Mag Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road.”
They continued, “When deputies arrived, they located the victim, identified as Laura Ann Carleton, suffering from a gunshot wound. Emergency medical personnel pronounced Carleton deceased at the scene.”
The initial statement read that they “received updates from Sheriff's Dispatch indicating the suspect, who has not been identified, fled on foot, and was seen on Torrey Road, east of Highway 173.”
“Deputies located the suspect near Torrey Road and Rause Rancho Road, armed with a handgun,” they continued.
“When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, a lethal force encounter occurred and the suspect was pronounced deceased. No deputies were injured during the incident," the statement further read.
Who was Laura Ann Carleton?
Carleton was a footwear and fashion industry veteran, who owned two stores in California, one at Cedar Glen in Lake Arrowhead and the other on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City in Los Angeles.
Carleton is survived by her husband of 28 years and a blended family. She was the mother to nine children.
She was also the co-founder of the Mountain Provisions Cooperative in Lake Arrowhead in California’s San Bernardino Mountains.
The organization wrote on Facebook, “Lauri was a pillar in our community, an immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice.”
“If you knew Lauri you know she loved hard, laughed often, and nurtured and protected those she cared about,” they further wrote.
The post continued, “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.”
