MARION COUNTY, Florida (2UG) – A Black woman was shot to death in front of her children by her White neighbor on Friday, June 2.
The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens who leaves behind four children.
According to published reports, Owens and her neighbor, who has only been identified as a 58-year-old White woman. It is being reported the two have been involved in a long-standing feud over Owen’s children.
It is alleged that the neighbor hurled racial insults and the children’s toys at them which prompted Owens to knock on her neighbor’s door.
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The neighbor never opened the door, instead shooting Owens through it. Owen would later die at the hospital.
According to CNN, the woman has been cooperating with law enforcement but has not been arrested.
Owens’ family is seeking justice and has hired famed attorney Benjamin Crump.
“My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon, she posed no imminent threat to anyone,” said Pamela Dias.
“What I’m asking is for justice,” she added. “Justice for my daughter.”
Speaking to MSNBC Monday night, Crump said the fact that there has not been an arrest in the case is “appalling.”
“It is asinine when they try to justify this unjustifiable killing of this mother of four who was killed in front of her children,” Crump said. “It is heartbreaking on every level.”
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods held a news conference where he appears to call the tragedy justified while responding to criticism about why the neighbor has yet to be arrested.
Woods referenced the state’s “stand your ground” law that allows people to meet “force with force” if they believe they or someone else is in danger of being seriously harmed by an assailant.
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that law has specific instructions for us in law enforcement,” he said. “Any time that we think, or perceive or believe that that might come into play, we cannot make an arrest, the law specifically says that.”
“What we have to rule out is whether the deadly force was justified or not before we can even make the arrest,” he said.
A verified GoFundMe page to support Owens’ family had raised more than $80,000 as of today.