Florida woman arrested after fatal shooting of neighbor

A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor after an argument involving the victim’s children was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

The woman, Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting death of Ajike Owens, 35, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement early Wednesday.

Ms. Lorincz was also charged with culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.

Since the Friday night shooting, there have been rising tensions and calls for concern about the pace of the investigation, which has been complicated by the state’s “stand your ground” law. On Monday, Ms Owens’ family held a press conference calling for authorities to arrest the shooter.

At around 9 p.m. on Friday, authorities were responding to a call for trespassing in Ocala, Florida, when they received another call about a shooting at the same address. When authorities arrived outside Ms. Lorincz’s apartment, they found Ms. Owens, a mother of four, with a gunshot wound. She was given first aid and taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday that detectives had conducted a thorough investigation since the shooting, including interviewing Ms. Owens’ children.

Authorities said Ms Lorincz had become angry with Ms Owens’ children, who were playing in a field close to her home.

She started arguing with the children, they said, and was heard yelling at them by a neighbor. During the altercation, police said, Ms Lorincz threw a roller skate at Ms Owens’ 10-year-old son, hitting him in the toe, and later waved an umbrella at them.

The children told their mother what had happened and she went to Mrs. Lorincz’s house, knocked on the door several times and demanded that she come out. Ms Lorincz then fired a shot through the door, hitting Ms Owens in the upper chest, police said. One from Mrs. Owens Sons was standing next to her when she was shot.

Ben Crump and Anthony D. Thomas, attorneys who work with the family, have a rack on Monday describe what they said happened, which differs slightly from the police account, claiming that Ms Lorincz used racial slurs when she yelled at the children. Mrs. Lorincz is white and Mrs. Owens was black.

Police said Ms Lorincz had claimed in an interview that she acted in self-defense and that Ms Owens tried to break down her door. She also accused Ms. Owens of assaulting her earlier.

“Detectives were able to determine that Lorincz’s actions were not justified under Florida law,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Sometimes when we do these investigations into cases of this level, sometimes it’s not right to make an arrest hastily,” Sheriff Billy Woods said in a video statement. “The justice we have all been seeking has been served. Peace for them is still some way off.”

The shooting of Ms Owens is the latest of similar incidents that have renewed focus on the legal protection of people who say they have feared for their safety. Some cases involve cases where victims accidentally approached the wrong house.

“While we are relieved that the woman apparently responsible for the tragic murder of Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens has been arrested, we are no less concerned that accountability has taken so long because archaic laws such as Stand Your Ground exist,” Mr. Crump and Mr. thomas said in a statement after the arrest.

“What does it mean if someone can shoot and kill an unarmed mother in front of her young children, and is not immediately taken into custody, questioned and charged,” the lawyers said.

Pamela Dias, Ms Owens’ mother, said at a press conference on Monday that her daughter had been rendered voiceless. “We’re here on her behalf,” she said. “We are here on behalf of the four children left behind, without a mother.”

Christine Hauser reporting contributed.