White woman who fatally shot Black neighbor is arrested in Ocala

The family of a woman shot by her neighbor in Ocala last week expressed relief at the news of the shooter's arrest late Tuesday — but said they remained alarmed that Florida's "stand your ground" law delayed the decision by several days.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Ajike Owens’ family along with Ocala attorney Anthony Thomas, at a press conference Wednesday made clear what was expected after shooter Susan Louise Lorincz's arrest: "We want justice for A.J."

Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said her grandchildren — ages 3, 8, 9 and 12 — "witnessed their mother taken away in cold blood."

"Please do not let my daughter's death go in vain," she said. "… It's not fair. I am grateful for an arrest [but] very disappointed it took four days. When is it OK in America to shoot someone and not get arrested for four days?"

Lorincz, 58, who is white, was arrested on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault in the death of Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old Black mother of four, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said.

The case has provoked a national groundswell of outrage, as well as support for Owens’ family. As of Wednesday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign had raised about $170,000 and famed civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton announced plans to visit Ocala next week to deliver a eulogy for Owens, at her mother's request.

Authorities came under pressure to arrest and charge Lorincz, who fired through her front door and killed Owens, in a case that put the divisive "stand your ground" law back into the spotlight and the country's latest flashpoint over race and gun violence.

Lorincz was undergoing medical testing Wednesday and did not attend a first-appearance hearing, a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office said. She was expected to appear in court Thursday.

Woods said that this was not a "stand your ground" case but "simply a killing."

In his press conference at New St. John Missionary Baptist Church, Crump thanked Woods for the arrest but said it is only the beginning.

"The state attorney has prosecutorial discretion. When you go before the grand jury, bring the strongest case you have," Crump said. "The family wants to make sure she is charged to the fullest extent of the law for what she took from them. The family wants a conviction. The arrest is a first step."

Lorincz told detectives she acted in self-defense, firing her weapon after Owens tried to break down her door. Lorincz claimed Owens had previously attacked her and Woods described the killing as the culmination of a 2½-year feud between the women.

The sheriff said Owens was shot soon after going to confront Lorincz, who had yelled at Owens’ children and threw a pair of skates at them — hitting one — as they played in a nearby lot.

The women lived in the rolling hills south of Ocala.

Through their investigation – including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses – detectives were able to establish that Lorincz's actions were not justifiable under Florida law, Woods’ office said.

About three dozen mostly Black protesters gathered outside the Marion County Judicial Center on Tuesday to demand that Lorincz be arrested. State Attorney William Gladson met with the protesters and urged patience while the investigation continued.

"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."

Woods said Monday that detectives were working with the State Attorney's Office to evaluate possible self-defense claims before they could move forward with any possible criminal charges. The sheriff noted that, because of the "stand your ground" law, he could only arrest Lorincz if he could prove she did not act in self-defense.

On Tuesday, a stuffed teddy bear and bouquets marked the area near where Owens was shot. Nearby, children were riding bikes and scooters, and playing basketball. Protesters chanted "No justice, no peace" and "A.J.," Owens’ nickname.

Outside, the Rev. Bernard Tuggerson said the Black community in Ocala has suffered injustices for years.

"Marion County is suffering and needs to be healed completely," he said. "If we don't turn from our wicked ways of the world, it's going to be an ongoing problem. We want answers."

Before their fatal confrontation, Lorincz had been yelling racial slurs at Owens’ children, according to Crump, who also represented Trayvon Martin's family in 2012, when the Black teenager was killed in Sanford, a case that drew worldwide attention.

Crump on Wednesday compared the bullet hole in the door through which Owens was shot to the bullet hole in Trayvon's hoodie.

The Sheriff's Office hasn't confirmed there were slurs uttered or said whether race was a factor in the shooting.

Lauren Smith, 40, lives across the street from where the shooting happened. She was on her porch that day and saw one of Owens’ young sons pacing, and yelling, "They shot my mama, they shot my mama."

She ran toward the house and started chest compressions until a rescue crew arrived. She said there wasn't an altercation and that Owens didn't have a weapon.

"She was angry all the time that the children were playing out there," Smith said. "She would say nasty things to them. Just nasty." Smith, who is white, described the neighborhood as family-friendly.

The sheriff said that since January 2021, deputies responded to at least a half-dozen calls in connection with what police described as feuding between Owens and Lorincz.

"There was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them, back and forth," the sheriff said Lorincz told investigators. "Whether it be banging on the doors, banging on the walls and threats being made. And then at that moment is when Ms. Owens was shot through the door."

"I’m absolutely heartbroken," Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told The Associated Press. She described the fatal shooting as "so senseless."

"We’ve seen this again and again across this country," she said, adding that "it's really because of lax gun laws and a culture of shoot first."

"Stand your ground" and "castle doctrine" cases — which allow residents to defend themselves either by law or court precedent when threatened — have sparked outrage across the country.

In April, 84-year-old Andrew Lester, a white man, shot and injured 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who rang his doorbell in Kansas City after mistakenly showing up at the wrong house to pick up his younger siblings. Lester faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action; at trial, he may argue that he thought someone was trying to break into his house, as he told police.

Missouri and Florida are among about 30 states that have "stand your ground" laws.

These laws first became the subject of a heated national debate during the investigation of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Trayvon.

Zimmerman, who had a white father and Hispanic mother, told police that Martin attacked him, forcing him to use his gun in self-defense. He was allowed to go free but was charged about six weeks later by a special prosecutor chosen by then-Gov. Rick Scott.

Before trial, Zimmerman's attorneys chose not to pursue a "stand your ground" claim, which could have resulted in the dismissal of murder changes as well as immunity from prosecution. But during the trial, the law was essentially used as part of his self-defense argument. Jurors found him not guilty.

At a vigil Monday, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said that she was seeking justice for her daughter and her grandchildren.

"My daughter, my grandchildren's mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her," Dias said. "She had no weapon. She posed no imminent threat to anyone."

Curt Anderson and Freida Frisaro of the Associated Press contributed.

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