The man who shot and killed a beloved California shop owner over a Pride flag outside her boutique seemed to pause before grabbing his gun – as if he had second thoughts before opening fire.
Travis Ikeguchi, 27, the son of a cop, tore down the rainbow flag outside clothing store Mag.Pi in Cedar Glen on Friday, shot Laura “Lauri” Carleton and fled – but was later killed in an exchange of gunfire with police, officials said.
An acquaintance of Carleton who watched surveillance video of the shooting described the 66-year-old woman’s final seconds, saying the gunman appeared to pause momentarily, the LA Times reported.
“He then almost flinched as if thinking twice but then went for it, grabbed the gun and then aimed it and shot Lauri,” the person told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
“That caused her to fall back onto the floor, and then the door swung closed, and then he shot one shot through that door and then took off,” the acquaintance said, adding that Carleton was holding a phone when she was killed.
The mom of nine never exited her business before being shot, the source added.
Ikeguchi made “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag” and shouted “many homophobic slurs” at the victim before taking her life, San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials told reporters on Monday.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the killer’s troubled life and fringe views.
Ikeguchi was the son of a Florida Highway Patrol state trooper, but wrote often about his mistrust of law enforcement – and even considered killing a cop, the LA Times reported.
“I know it’s controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws,” he reportedly wrote in 2021.
He moved to California with his sister and mother after his parents split in a messy 2018 divorce that left him with animosity toward his dad, according to the news outlet.
In 2019, Ikeguchi wrote that he and his mother lived in their car and were struggling to make ends meet so he started a GoFundMe campaign asking for money for housing and food.
“I don’t have a home and I don’t have enough money for a place to stay and eat,” he wrote, the paper said.
“Nobody in my family is going to help me on this; they are selfish and greedy when it comes to helping out with others especially me. And the sad part of it is that all them work for the government,” Ikeguchi added.
He claimed his father used his role as a cop to “withhold money” and “leave us penniless,” but the dad said in divorce filings cited by the paper that he paid auto insurance and spousal support.
His mother said Ikeguchi was supporting her and his sister in California.
“My son Travis had to use his remaining college money to support us,” she reportedly wrote.
In 2021, Ikeguchi filed for and was granted a name change from Travis Kirby Ikeguchi to Timothy Thomas Yokohama, according to filings cited by the outlet.
“Taking the name of my ancestry,” he reportedly listed as the reason for the change.
He frequently posted anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion comments on X, formerly Twitter, and the far-right platform Gab.
“What to do with the [Pride] flag?” he wrote in June above a photo of a burning rainbow flag on X – and also shared an illustration of a burning Pride flag on his now-defunct Gab page under the guise of Christianity.
Carleton, who is survived by her husband and nine kids, did not identify as a member of the LGBTQ community but was an unwavering supporter, according to the Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organization.
“Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig called her a friend.
“She was a wonderful person who did so much for the LGBTQ+ community as well as the community at large,” he wrote on X. “What happened to her is an absolute tragedy. If people don’t think anti-gay & trans rhetoric isn’t dangerous, think again.”
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 & 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘆: nypost.com
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𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝘁 dmca@enspirers.com
