The 58-year-old white woman suspected of shooting through a closed door and killing her Black neighbor in Marion County was arrested overnight, four days after the incident.
It's a case that prompted outrage and protest in Ocala.
Susan Louise Lorincz was arrested on charges of manslaughter, culpable negligence, assault and battery.
Ajike "AJ" Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, had gone to her apartment in Quail Run south of Ocala after investigators say Lorincz -- who had been shouting at the kids -- threw a roller skate at one of them. The Sheriff's Office says Owens was shot in the chest last Friday as she demanded Lorincz come outside.
Sheriff Billy Woods says detectives had to gather the evidence -- including interviews with the children on Tuesday -- to rule out the Stand Your Ground law, which he supports.
"This situation is a prime example of when it was not justified," Woods said in a video statement on Facebook. "It was simply a killing."
In a statement, the Sheriff's Office says that Lorincz claimed self-defense "and that Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm."
But the Sheriff's Office post says the evidence it gathered -- which includes surveillance video and eyewitness statements -- shows the shooting was "not justifiable."
Here's how the department describes shooting: "Owens approached Lorincz’s home, knocked on the door multiple times, and demanded that Lorincz come outside. Lorincz then fired one shot through the door, striking Owens in her upper chest."
Attorneys for the Owens' family said they're relieved by the arrest. They condemned "archaic laws" like Stand Your ground that delayed it.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family, thanked Sheriff Woods for making the arrest. He also thanked the community for rallying around the family. He thanked activitists who spoke out in Ocala and around the country.
He urged them to continue to press for "justice for AJ."
Crumped emphasized the emotional burden of the delay before an arrest on Owens' mother, Pamela Dias, and Owens' children.
Her 9-year-old son was standing beside her when she was shot. And Crump said the boy and his older brother are consumed by guilt.
"Today," Crump said, "we get to share with her children and try to make sure they understand that this senseless act of violence that killed their mother before their eyes was not their fault."
The 9-year-old worries that he told his mom what Lorincz had done, and the 12-year-old blames himself, Dias said. "His words were, 'Grandma, grandma, I couldn't save her. I tried to give her CPR, but I couldn't. I tried to give her CPR.'"
Crump said they hope the State Attorney's Office will consider more serious charges than manslaughter, such as murder.
He said the Rev. Al Sharpton, the National Action Network founder and MSNBC host, will deliver a eulogy at a service for Owens on Monday.
