A white woman accused of shooting and killing a black mother-of-four over a dispute involving the slain woman’s children has been arrested and charged four days after the incident.
Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, was charged Tuesday June 6, with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault, Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
‘The justice we have all been seeking has been served,’ Sheriff Billy Woods said in a video posted Tuesday.
It follows public pressure on police to take action over the killing after authorities first said they had to take time to determine what role Florida‘s ‘stand your ground’ law might play in the incident.
Lorincz, who is white, is accused of fatally shooting Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens through a closed door in Ocala on Friday night.
It’s alleged that Lorincz threw a roller skate at one of Ms. Owens’ children and swung an umbrella at another during a heated exchange before they went to tell their mother.
Ms. Owens reportedly then went across the street to speak with the neighbour after hearing of the incident, at which point Lorincz is accused of firing through her door, shooting the mother-of-four.
Ms Owens later died at a hospital from her injuries.
Marching up to Lorincz home, it’s alleged that Ms Owens approached her door and ‘knocked multiple times, and demanded that Lorincz come outside.’
Police say that this is when Lorincz ‘fired one shot through the door, striking Ms Owens in her upper chest.’
She later died at hospital from her injuries.’At the time she was shot, Ms. Owens’ 10-year-old son was standing beside her.
When interviewed, Lorincz told police that ‘she’d acted in self-defense and that Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm.’
‘Lorincz also claimed that Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her.’
Police said that through their investigation and eyewitness testimony, they were able to establish that ‘Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law.’
Under Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law, people are essentially permitted to use deadly force if they feel their lives are in danger.
Woods acknowledged that Owen’s children were engaged in a dispute with the neighbor prior to the shooting regarding them being on her lawn.
He said officers have responded half-a-dozen times to complaints about the ongoing feud since January 2021.
Crump, who is representing Ms. Owens’ family, said in a statement that the shooter had been yelling racial slurs at the children before the confrontation with their mother.
Ms. Owens and her children are black.
The sheriff’s office hasn’t confirmed there were slurs uttered or said whether racism was a factor in the shooting.
