A white Florida woman has been arrested for shooting dead her black neighbor 'through her front door' while confronting her after a bitter two-year dispute over her children playing outside.
Susan Lorincz, 58, is accused of killing Ajike 'AJ' Owens in front of her 10-year-old son after the mother-of-four went to confront her over attacking her kids on Friday.
Lorincz was charged Tuesday with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault, Marion County Sheriff's Office said. Owens, 35, had reportedly marched up to Lorincz's front porch to bang on her door after her kids told her that the older woman had hurled a roller skate at one of them and swung an umbrella at another.
Lorincz allegedly shot Owens through the front door. She was taken to hospital, where she died of her injuries.
In a video posted by the sheriff's office following her arrest, Lorincz was seen hanging her head as she was walked with her hands cuffed behind her back, flanked by deputies.
'The justice we have all been seeking has been served,' Sheriff Billy Woods said on Tuesday. It follows public pressure on police to take action over the killing after authorities first said they had to take time to determine what role Florida's 'stand your ground' law might play in the incident.
Authorities came under pressure Tuesday to arrest and charge Lorincz in a case that has put Florida's divisive stand your ground law back into the spotlight.
Woods said that this was not a stand your ground case but 'simply a killing.'
When interviewed, Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense and that Ms Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm.
Lorincz also claimed that Ms Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her. Through their investigation - including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses - detectives were able to establish that Lorincz's actions were not justifiable under Florida law, a statement from the sheriff's office said.
About three dozen mostly Black protesters gathered outside the Marion County Judicial Center to demand that the shooter be arrested in the country's latest flashpoint over race and gun violence. The chief prosecutor, State Attorney William Gladson, met with the protesters and urged patience while the investigation continues.
'If we are going to make a case we need as much time and as much evidence as possible,' Gladson said. 'I don't want to compromise any criminal investigation and I'm not going to do that.'
The initial altercation is believe to have started when Ms Owens' children were playing in a field near an apartment complex in Ocala, Florida, on Friday when Lorincz 'began yelling at them to get off her land and calling them racial slurs,' renowned civil rights attorney and the Owens' family lawyer Ben Crump said.
The children then accidentally left an iPad behind after leaving the field - although police said it was a pair of skates - before going back to fetch it, Crump explained.
According to police, Lorincz 'engaged in an argument with the children' that was overheard by a neighbor.
'During this argument, Lorincz threw a roller skate at Ms Owens' 10-year-old son, striking the child in the toe,' the statement said.
In a video posted by the sheriff's office following her arrest, Lorincz was seen hanging her head as she was walked with her hands cuffed behind her back, flanked by deputies.
'The justice we have all been seeking has been served,' Sheriff Billy Woods said on Tuesday. It follows public pressure on police to take action over the killing after authorities first said they had to take time to determine what role Florida's 'stand your ground' law might play in the incident.
Authorities came under pressure Tuesday to arrest and charge Lorincz in a case that has put Florida's divisive stand your ground law back into the spotlight.
Woods said that this was not a stand your ground case but 'simply a killing.'
When interviewed, Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense and that Ms Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm.
Lorincz also claimed that Ms Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her. Through their investigation - including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses - detectives were able to establish that Lorincz's actions were not justifiable under Florida law, a statement from the sheriff's office said.
About three dozen mostly Black protesters gathered outside the Marion County Judicial Center to demand that the shooter be arrested in the country's latest flashpoint over race and gun violence. The chief prosecutor, State Attorney William Gladson, met with the protesters and urged patience while the investigation continues.
'If we are going to make a case we need as much time and as much evidence as possible,' Gladson said. 'I don't want to compromise any criminal investigation and I'm not going to do that.'
The initial altercation is believe to have started when Ms Owens' children were playing in a field near an apartment complex in Ocala, Florida, on Friday when Lorincz 'began yelling at them to get off her land and calling them racial slurs,' renowned civil rights attorney and the Owens' family lawyer Ben Crump said.
The children then accidentally left an iPad behind after leaving the field - although police said it was a pair of skates - before going back to fetch it, Crump explained.
According to police, Lorincz 'engaged in an argument with the children' that was overheard by a neighbor.
'During this argument, Lorincz threw a roller skate at Ms Owens' 10-year-old son, striking the child in the toe,' the statement said.
By ANEETA BHOLE and CHRISTIAN OLIVER
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