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August 22, 2023

California Store Owner Shot Dead by Man Who Tore Down Pride Flag and Shouted Slurs 
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In California, a beloved shop owner in the San Bernardino Mountains was
fatally shot by a man shouting homophobic slurs about a rainbow Pride
flag hanging outside her business. Sixty-six-year-old Laura Ann Carleton
died from a gunshot wound Friday evening at her store in Cedar Glen,
east of Los Angeles. A 27-year-old gunman blamed for her killing fled
the scene and was shot and killed after what officers described as a
shootout. Police say the suspect had a history of making hateful and
homophobic posts on multiple social media platforms, including X, the
site formerly known as Twitter. A recent report by the advocacy group
GLAAD documented at least 356 cases of anti-LGBTQIA hate across the U.S.
between June 2022 and last April.


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