Black mother killed during dispute with neighbor in Florida

A community in Florida is outraged amid growing calls for local authorities to arrest a woman accused of shooting her Black neighbor last Friday night.

Ajike "AJ" Owens (Source: Ben Crump/Twitter) — Ajike “AJ” Owens (Source: Ben Crump/Twitter)

The shooting happened in Ocala after a dispute between the neighbor, who is White, and Ajike “AJ” Owens, a mother of four who is Black.

Owens’ children were playing in a field near an apartment building when the White woman “began yelling at them to get off her land and calling them racial slurs,” said attorney Ben Crump.

In a statement, Crump said Owens’ children left the iPad behind after the 58-year-old woman yelled slurs at them. After one of the children tried to retrieve the iPad, the woman thew the iPad, striking the boy and damaging the device.

After she learned about the exchange, Owens walked across the street to talk to the neighbor and get more information, Crump said.

When one of Owens’ children went to retrieve it, she threw it, hitting the boy and cracking the screen. Owens walked across the street to speak to her neighbor after she learned what happened, Crump said.

“She knocked on the door, and at that point, the woman allegedly shot through the door, hitting AJ, who later died from her injuries,” Crump said.

During a news conference on Monday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods did not confirm or dispute Crump’s account of the incident.

“(I’m not) going to stand here and tell you what they’re putting out there is inaccurate. It’s just I don’t know yet,” Wood said speaking to the media on Monday.

Woods said there was a history of a feud between the shooter and Owens regarding Owens’ children.

“Was something thrown at them? Yes, but not directly at them of what we’re being told now,” Woods said. “It just unfortunately may have hit them.”

Woods said there was a heated exchange after Owens went to the neighbor’s door around 9 p.m. During the exchange, the neighbor shot Owens through the door.

As more people in the community call for the shooter’s arrest, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law is taking center stage again and could play a role in the case.

More about the shooting and outrage can be found here.