Ajike Owens Ocala, Florida black mother shot dead by Susan Lawrick over kids playing in field next to white neighbor’s home. Was she shot in self defense? Did race play a part in fatal shooting?
*** Update: White woman, 58, who fatally shot black neighbor arrested after pressure. Shot in self defence? A Florida black mother of four was shot and killed by a neighbor over the weekend following a multi-year feud over children playing outside, authorities said.
Ajike Owens of Ocala was shot through the closed door of the neighbor’s home and later died of her injuries at a nearby hospital Friday night, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a press conference Monday.
The encounter between Owens, 35, and the shooter, since identified on social media as 58 year old white woman, Susan Lawrick, was sparked after Owens’ children were playing in a field next to her apartment complex and the woman demanding they get off her land.
White woman, 58, who fatally shot black neighbor arrested after pressure
Investigators probe self defense claim by shooter
The shooting death ended a more than 2-year feud between the two, the sheriff said.
A family member of Owens said her son was next to her when she was killed.
The shooter has not been arrested because detectives, along with the State Attorney’s Office, are probing possible self-defense claims, Woods said.
Owens and the shooter were involved in numerous fights since January 2021, with deputies called at least a half dozen times connected to the clash.
‘I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,’ Woods said. ‘I wish Ms. Owens would have called us in the hopes we could have never gotten to the point at which we are here today.’
“My daughter. My grandchildren’s mother. Was shot and killed with her 9-year old son standing right next to her,” Ajike Owens’ mother said: pic.twitter.com/DgOLxQKoT6
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 6, 2023
Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law
Before gunfire rang out, Owens’ children were playing outside in the field near the shooter’s apartment. The woman yelled at the kids and then threw an iPad tablet Owens’ son had left in the neighbors yard, striking the boy and cracking the device, MSNBC reported.
Owens later approached the woman at her apartment after her 9-year-old alerted her, leading to the argument and then the shooting, investigators said.
‘There was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them, back and forth,’ Wood said the shooter 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.’
Florida’s stand your ground law has preempted authorities from arresting the woman unless it can be proven the shooter didn’t act in self-defense.
While the shooter has been questioned by investigators, Owens’ children have not been interviewed yet by the sheriff’s office. Child experts are expected to work with the grieving siblings.
We have been retained by the family of Ajike “AJ” Owens. We will continue to stand alongside her relatives and community members as they demand accountability for the deceased mother of four. #AjikeOwens pic.twitter.com/bEcnTYb729
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 5, 2023
Was shooting racially motivated?
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Owens’ family, accused the shooter of directing racial slurs at the children before Owens came to her door in a statement. Owens and her kids are black.
The sheriff’s office has not confirmed there were slurs spoken or if race was a factor.
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias said at a vigil for her daughter she wanted justice done for her family.
‘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.’
