Suspect Identified in Murder of California Store Owner Over Pride Flag

The man who allegedly shot and killed a San Bernardino County store owner over an LGBTQ pride flag attached to her store has been identified as 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi, sheriff’s office officials said Monday. 

Ikeguchi, who apparently posted a photo of a fire destroying a pride flag on his X, formerly Twitter, account prior to the shooting according to CBS News, allegedly killed Laura Ann Carleton, owner of the Mag Pi clothing store in Lake Arrowhead, California, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times also reported Ikeguchi also apparently posted "we need to STOP COMPROMISING on this LGBT dictatorship and not let them take over our lives! Stop accepting this abomination" on his account in 2021 on the right-wing social networking platform Gab.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Monday that investigators determined Ikeguchi allegedly tore down the flag and yelled several homophobic slurs toward Carleton, then allegedly shot her after Carleton confronted him. By the time deputies arrived at the store around 5 p.m. Friday, Carleton had succumbed to her injuries.

Ikeguchi himself was shot and killed after he fled the scene on foot and started a shootout with sheriff’s deputies. 

Dicus also said Monday at a news conference that Ikeguchi's family had reported him missing a day prior to the shooting and that he did not have a gun registered under his name.

Despite Ikeguchi's death, sheriff's officials continue to investigate the shooting to confirm whether he acted alone and the circumstances around how he acquired the gun used in the shooting.

"From a preliminary standpoint, it looks like the suspect acted alone, but we want to be sure that that's the case, and there are no hate groups or anything else associated to this," Dicus said. "That's why this is still an ongoing investigation."