White Florida woman accused of shooting Black neighbor arrested

A white woman in Florida was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting of her Black neighbor last week, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced.  

The office arrested Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, for allegedly shooting and killing neighbor Ajike Owens, 35, a mother of four. The charges are manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.

Owens’s death sparked outrage across the region as protesters called on authorities to arrest her shooter. State Attorney William Gladson met with the demonstrators and urged them to remain patient amid the ongoing investigation.

“If we are going to make a case we need as much time and as much evidence as possible,” Gladson had said. “I don’t want to compromise any criminal investigation, and I’m not going to do that.”

The sheriff’s office said the investigation found Lorincz became “angry” at Owens’s children over time. On Friday, Lorincz was yelling at the children and threw a roller skate and swung an umbrella at them, prompting the children to go home and tell their mother Owens, the statement said.

The sheriff’s office said Owens then knocked on Lorincz’s door to ask her to come outside. Instead, Lorincz fired her weapon once through the door and struck Owens in the chest while her 10-year-old child stood behind her. Owens later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.

Lorincz told authorities she was acting in self-defense, but “detectives were able to establish that Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law.”

“I want to thank my detectives for working tirelessly to fully investigate this case. I also want to thank Ms. Owens’ family for their patience as we conducted the diligent investigation that we were bound by law to conduct,” Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. “Ms. Lorincz’s fate is now in the hands of the judicial system, which I trust will deliver justice in due course. As I go to bed tonight, I will be saying a prayer for Ms. Owens’ children and the rest of her family. I’d ask all of you to do the same.”