Family Demands Arrest of White Woman in Fatal Shooting of Black Neighbor

Ajike “AJ” Owens

By: Adonis Armstrong

Calls for the arrest of an unidentified white woman are echoing among Florida residents after she reportedly confronted and verbally abused her Black neighbor's children before fatally shooting their mother.

NBC News reported on Monday June 6th that a prolonged feud between a 58-year-old woman and her neighbor's children reached a tragic outcome on Friday June 2nd. As civil rights attorney Ben Crump stated, Ajike "AJ" Owens' children were playing in a field near an apartment complex in Ocala when the woman, identified as white, started shouting at them to leave her property, accompanied by racial slurs.

Following the verbal altercation, according to Crump, the children inadvertently left an iPad behind, which the 58-year-old woman allegedly seized. The woman reportedly threw the device when one of Owens' children approached to retrieve it, striking the boy's head and causing the iPad screen to crack, as noted by the attorney.

When their mother Ajike heard about the incident, Owens crossed the street to talk to the woman about it. “She knocked on the door, and at that point, the woman allegedly shot through the door, hitting AJ, who later died from her injuries,” the attorney stated.

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

Pamela Dias, Owens' mother, who addressed the incident on Monday, affirmed that her child did not present any form of threat to the neighbor. “The mother, the protector of her children, she wanted to know why this happened — a closed, locked door. The door never opened. My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon. She posed no imminent threat to anyone,” Dias revealed.

During a news conference yesterday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods refrained from confirming or denying Crump's description of the events. However, the sheriff acknowledged that at least two of Owens' children may have been present and witnessed the shooting. “The children are a big part of answering a lot of our questions,” Woods stated. The police have verified that Owens and the 58-year-old individual were involved in a heated altercation, and it has been confirmed that Owens was shot through the door. “I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,” he also added.

No arrest has been made yet due to Florida's stand your ground laws, but that is not stopping the community from demanding justice because now four children are motherless.

News conference: Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods gives update on deadly shooting investigation

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