Calls are growing for the arrest of a woman accused of shooting her neighbor Friday in Florida in an incident described by a nationally-renowned civil rights attorney as an “unjustified killing.”
The children of the victim, identified as Ajike “AJ” Owens, were playing in a field near an apartment complex in Ocala when attorney Ben Crump said an unidentified white woman, 58, “began yelling at them to get off her land and calling them racial slurs.”
According to Crump’s statement, after the woman yelled slurs at Owens’ children, they accidentally left an iPad behind, which the woman took.
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 learning what happened, according to Crump.
“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 Monday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods did not confirm or reject Crump’s account of what happened, telling reporters he wasn’t “going to stand here and tell you what they’re putting out there is inaccurate. It’s just I don’t know yet.”
Here’s what the sheriff said he does know:
- There had been a longstanding “neighborhood feud” between the shooter and Owens about her children.
- The children may have been hit by an unspecified object. “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.” He added: “The children are a big part of answering a lot our questions.”
- When Owens came to the shooter’s door, there was a heated exchange. Owens was shot through the door.
- At least two of Owens’ four children may have witnessed the shooting, which occurred about 9 p.m.
Woods promised Owens’ family his office will provide all resources available to seek justice in the case.
“I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,” he said, adding investigators are trying to determine if Florida’s stand your ground law is applicable in the shooting.
In general, Floridians can defend themselves with deadly force if they believe they are in imminent danger or death — and not only when they are inside their homes. The person being threatened is not required to try to flee.
“That law has specific instructions for us and law enforcement, and anytime that we think or perceive or believe that … might come into play, we cannot make an arrest,” Woods said. “The law specifically says that and what we have to rule out is whether the deadly force was justified or not before we can even make the arrest.”
Crump has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. ET to discuss the case. Owens’ mother, 12-year-old son and the president of the Marion County NAACP are expected to attend.
