Florida woman arrested for fatally shooting neighbour

A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbour after a years-long feud was arrested on Tuesday, authorities said.

Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, now faces manslaughter, negligence and assault charges in the death of her neighbour Ajike Owens.

Ms Owens, 35, was shot through the front door of Ms Lorincz's home last week.

She claimed she shot Ms Owens in self defence - a claim that police deny.

Earlier this week, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said that police responding to a trespassing call in the town of Ocala on Friday found Ms Owens with gunshot wounds. One of her children was standing beside her when she was shot. The mother of four was taken to hospital, where she died.

Mr Woods said that the incident is believed to have stemmed from an altercation earlier in the day in which Ms Lorincz shouted at Ms Owen's children and struck one of them with a pair of skates.

The incident was the latest in a series of quarrels between the two women that had seen police called at least six times since January 2021.

On Tuesday, dozens of protesters gathered at a local prosecutor's office to demand that an arrest be made in the case.

Sheriff Woods had initially said that as per Florida law no arrest could be made unless it was proved that Ms Lorincz did not act in self-defence.

Florida introduced a "stand your ground" law in 2005 which gives individuals a right to protect themselves with reasonable force - including deadly force - to prevent death or bodily harm.

On Tuesday night, however, Sheriff Woods posted a video to Facebook in which he said the case was "simply a killing", and defended not "rushing in" to make an arrest earlier.

"The laws here in the state of Florida are clear," he said. "I may not like them. I may not agree with them. But I will follow".

The family of Ms Owen, who was black, is being represented by Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer who has represented the family's of several prominent black victims of violence and police brutality.

In a statement, Mr Crump accused Ms Lorincz, who is white, of yelling racial slurs at Ms Owen's children before the shooting took place.

At a Wednesday news conference, Mr Crump said he was "thankful" for the arrest and that he believes "archaic" stand your ground laws can "complicate matters".

Local authorities have not confirmed that Ms Lorincz used racial slurs before the shooting. The BBC has reached out to the Marion County Sheriff's office for comment.

Jail records do not have a lawyer listed for Ms Lorincz. It is not clear when she will next appear in court.

Versions of stand your ground laws are in effect in at least 28 states.

A number of prominent cases have been related to these laws, including the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.

Three white men charged with shooting black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 attempted to justify the killing using the law. They were ultimately unsuccessful and convicted of murder.