Florida mom fatally shot by neighbor after 2-year feud over playing children, sheriff says
A Florida mother of four was shot and killed Friday by a neighbor after the two had been involved in a multi-year feud over children playing outside, authorities said.
Ajike Owens was blasted through the 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, only identified as a woman, was sparked after Owens’ children were playing in a field in the city of Ocala. 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, Woods said, 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.”
Before gunfire rang out, Owens’ children were playing outside in the field near the shooter’s apartment, authorities said. The woman yelled at the kids and then threw a pair of skates at them, striking one of the children, Woods said.
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.”
Woods said he’s heard complaints the case is not moving swiftly enough. He noted Florida’s “stand your ground” law means he can’t arrest the woman unless he can prove 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.
Well-known 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.”
With Post wires
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