Woman arrested for fatally shooting black neighbour mum-of-four at her door
A woman in Florida was arrested for shooting and killing her neighbour, a mother she spent years feuding with.
Susan Lorincz, 58, was taken into custody on Tuesday. Investigators say she shot and killed Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens on Friday, June 2 after she knocked on her door to confront her for throwing an iPad at her children.
Lorincz was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison.
According to Owens’ family, the altercation began when Lorincz yelled racial slurs at her children, who were playing in a field next to their Ocala, Florida apartment complex.
‘The children left, but accidentally left an iPad behind, which the woman took,’ said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family. ‘When one of the children went to her residence to retrieve it, she threw it, hitting the boy and cracking the screen.’
When Owens went to Lorincz’s house to confront her, the 58-year-old white woman shot the mother of four through her front door.
The arrest comes almost four days after the fatal shooting, a delay that has frustrated Owens’ family and the community at-large. Authorities said the delay was due to Florida’s comprehensive ‘stand-your-ground’ law.
‘My detectives have been working around the clock since this happened, sifting through evidence and interviewing witnesses,’ Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said. ‘We want the same thing as Ms Owens’s family – and that’s justice.’
When deputies arrived at the Lorincz’s home on Friday night, the suspect said she acted in self-defense The sheriff said that Florida’s law prevented them from arresting her until they could prove this wasn’t the case.
Earlier, Sheriff Woods said Owens and Lorincz had feuded for at least two-and-one-half years. His office had responded to complaints from Lorincz at least six times.
‘There was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them, back and forth,’ Woods said. ‘Whether it be banging on the doors, banging on the walls and threats being made.’
The arrest was finally made on Tuesday after investigators determined Lorincz did not shoot through the door in self-defense.
‘My detectives cannot complete an investigation without getting all sides of a story,’ Woods said. ‘And that night – all we had was one person’s story, and that was the shooter’s story. Ms Owens’s story had to be told through evidence and the eyes of witnesses who were there.’
Woods still praised Florida’s ‘stand-your-ground’ law, which he said was designed to ensure citizens can protect themselves. He also noted that ‘it does not apply in all situations, and this situation is a prime example of when it was not justified. It was simply a killing.’
Crump praised the arrest of Lorincz, but criticized the ‘stand-your-ground’ law that protected her for days.
‘What does it say when a person can shoot and kill an unarmed mother in the presence of her young children, and not be immediately taken into custody, questioned and charged?’ Crump asked.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.