Neighbor Charged In Fatal Shooting Of FL Mother During Dispute: Police

OCALA, FL — A Florida woman is facing multiple charges after Marion County authorities said she fatally shot her neighbor through a door while the neighbor's 10-year-old son stood next to her.

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

The shooting brought a violent end to what the sheriff described as a 2½-year feud between the two women, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Before the arrest, authorities were pressured to charge Lorincz in the case, which has put Florida's divisive stand-your-ground law back into the spotlight.

In a video posted on Facebook, Woods said the shooting was not a stand-your-ground case but "simply a killing."

"Now, many of you were struggling to understand why there was not an immediate arrest," the sheriff said. "The laws here in the state of Florida are clear. Now I may not like them. I may not agree with them. But however, those laws I will follow."

The shooting happened Friday as police responded to a trespassing call in the 1600 block of Southwest 107th Lane in Ocala, according to authorities. At the same time, police also received a call about a shooting at the same location.

When deputies arrived, they found Owens outside Lorincz's apartment, suffering from a gunshot wound, authorities said. Owens was taken to the hospital, where she later died, police said.

According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Lorincz had become angry with Owens' children, who were playing in a field near her home the night of the shooting. Lorincz confronted the children, police said, and threw a roller skate at Owens' 10-year-old son, hitting him in the toe.

Following the argument, the boy and his 12-year-old brother went to speak to Lorincz, who opened her door and swung at them with an umbrella, police said.

According to authorities, Owens went to Lorincz's home following the argument, where she knocked on the door multiple times and demanded Lorincz come outside. Police said Lorincz fired one shot through the door, striking Owens in her chest.

At the time she was shot, police said Owens' 10-year-old son was standing beside her.

Police said after the shooting, Lorincz claimed she was acting in self-defense and told police Owens' tried to break down the door before she fired the shot. She also told police Owens had attacked her in the past, according to authorities.

After interviewing witnesses, police said they arrested Lorincz after determining her actions were "not justifiable under Florida law."

On Tuesday, about three dozen protesters, most of them Black, gathered outside the Marion County Judicial Center, demanding the shooter's arrest. The chief prosecutor, 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."

Before the confrontation, Lorincz had been yelling racial slurs at the children, according to a statement from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Owens' family. He also represented Trayvon Martin's family in 2012, when the Black teenager was killed in a case that drew worldwide attention to the state's stand-your-ground law.

In a statement late Tuesday, Crump said while Owens' family is "relieved" that an arrest has been made, they remain concerned it has taken this long because "archaic laws like Stand Your Ground exist."

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.

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."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.