OCALA, Fla. (TCD) — Deputies in Marion County have found probable cause to arrest a 58-year-old woman accused of shooting and killing her neighbor through a closed door last week.
Ajike “AJ” Owens was fatally shot Friday, June 2, on the 1600 block of SW 108th Lane. In a press conference Monday, June 5, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said his office hadn’t arrested or charged the suspected shooter because they needed to investigate whether the woman fired her gun under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
He said, “That law has specific instructions. Any time we believe or perceive that might come into play, we cannot make an arrest. What we have to rule out is whether deadly force was justified before we can even make an arrest.”
On Tuesday, June 6, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced a detective with the Major Crimes Unit arrested Susan Louise Lorincz on charges of manslaughter, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault.
Woods released a video speaking about the arrest as well as a statement about the alleged timeline of events. According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies found Owens suffering from a gunshot wound in front of Lorincz’s apartment and rendered first aid until medics arrived. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
The two women reportedly had an ongoing feud.
Major Crimes Unit detectives gathered evidence and spoke with witnesses and learned Lorincz “engaged in an argument” with Owens’ children June 2. Another neighbor allegedly overheard Lorincz “yelling at them.”
At some point in the argument, Lorincz allegedly threw a roller skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son, and it hit him on his toe. The 10-year-old and his 12-year-old brother went back to Lorincz’s apartment to talk to her, and she allegedly “opened her door and swung at them with an umbrella.”
Owens’ children went home and told their mother about what happened. Owens went to Lorincz’s house, knocked on the door “multiple times,” and told Lorincz to come outside. Lorincz fired her gun, which struck Owens in the upper chest. Owen’s 10-year-old son was reportedly standing next to her when she was shot.
Lorincz told investigators she shot Owens in self-defense because Owens “had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm.”
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Lorincz alleged Owens “had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her.”
The investigators determined the shooting was “not justifiable under Florida law.”
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