The children’s grandmother Pamela Dias will now raise them.
Photo Courtesy of Marion County Sheriff's Office/AP
An arrest has been made in the tragic shooting death of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a 35-year-old Black mother-of-four who was allegedly shot in front of one of her children on Friday.
The shooting occurred after a dispute involving Owens’s children and her white neighbor. Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, has been charged with manslaughter by way of a firearm, as well as two counts of assault, battery, and culpable negligence in connection to Owens’s death, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrest comes after initial uncertainty regarding the charges due to Florida’s controversial “stand-your-ground” law. However, mounting pressure from Owens’s family, represented by renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and calls for Lorincz’s arrest from local politicians led to the charges being filed.
In a video posted on Facebook late Tuesday night, Sheriff Billy Woods said this was not a stand your ground case but “simply a killing.”
The deadly confrontation unfolded on June 2, when Owens and her children were playing in an Ocala field. Lorincz engaged in an argument with the children and was overheard yelling at them by a neighbor. She reportedly threw a roller skate at Owens’s 10-year-old son, followed by using racial slurs during the altercation.
Lorincz then attempted to hit Owens’s two sons with an umbrella when they tried to speak with her. Owens’s sons informed their mother about the encounter, leading Owens to confront Lorincz. She went to Lorincz’s home, knocking on the door multiple times and demanding that she come outside. Lorincz responded by firing a single shot through the door, striking Owens in the upper chest.
Officers arrived at the scene to find Owens suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite their efforts, Owens succumbed to her injuries shortly after.
The field between Owens’s and Lorincz’s homes played a central role in the deadly dispute.
Lauren Smith, 40, lives across the street from where the shooting happened and was there when one of Owens’ young sons yelled, “They shot my mama, they shot my mama.”
“She was angry all the time that the children were playing out there,” Smith said. “She would say nasty things to them. Just nasty.”
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Lorincz is scheduled to appear in court on June 8, and a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the family, covering funeral and memorial expenses, education expenses for her children, and the family’s living expenses.
The children’s grandmother Pamela Dias will now raise them.
“I pray that God gives me the strength, the wisdom and the ability to raise these children as our daughter would have us to do. I thank God that I don’t have to do it alone.”