The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has revealed that the deadly shooting of a mother of four, who was killed in front of at least one of her children, is the result of a long-standing “neighborhood feud” with a white woman who racially harassed her kids.
As of now, a 58-year-old white woman has not been arrested for the shooting that claimed the life of 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens on June 2 in Ocala, Florida. Deputies responded to a trespassing call and a shooting that evening in the 1600 block of SW 108th Lane, where they found Owens wounded. They provided assistance until medics arrived and transported her to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The identity of the woman who shot Owens remains unknown at this time.
According to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, the events leading up to the shooting involved racial harassment and physical harm inflicted by the woman who shot Owens.
On that Friday, Owens’ children were playing in a field near an apartment complex when a white woman reportedly began shouting at them to leave her property, using racial slurs against them. Although the children left, they realized they had left an iPad in the field, which the woman confiscated. When one of the children went to retrieve it from her home, she threw it, hitting the boy in the head and causing the screen to crack.
Upon learning what had transpired, Owens crossed the street to the woman’s residence and knocked on her door. After a brief argument, the woman allegedly shot Owens through the door, with her 9-year-old son and possibly another child present as witnesses.
“There was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them, back and forth,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods 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.”
However, there are conflicting reports between law enforcement and Crump’s account. Sheriff Woods mentioned that the woman threw a pair of skates at the children instead of an iPad. Additionally, while Crump asserts that racial slurs were hurled at the children, the sheriff’s office has yet to confirm this or determine if race played a role in the shooting.
Nevertheless, this was not the first instance of animosity between the two neighbors. During a news conference, Sheriff Woods revealed that the shooting was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year feud. Deputies had been called to the area on six to eight occasions since January 2021 to address disputes between Owens and the woman who ultimately shot her. The shooter had also contacted deputies to complain about the children.
Investigators have refrained from interviewing Owens’ children for the time being, opting to involve child therapists to handle the process due to the potential trauma they experienced witnessing their mother’s death. Sheriff Woods stated that most of the available information at this stage is from the shooter.
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said the neighbor has a deep history of harassment against Owens’ children.
“Harassed the children in the neighborhood,” Dias said. “Harassed Ajike Shantrelle Owens’ four babies. She called them racial slurs: the N-word, slaves.”
Ashley Remy, a neighbor to whom the children sought help after their mother was shot, also confirmed the woman’s behavior.
“She has called the cops just for them playing,” Remy said. “She calls them names.”
Owens’ family members, loved ones, and community leaders are demanding an arrest in the tragic incident. However, the sheriff cited Florida’s “stand your ground” law as a barrier to making an arrest unless investigators can prove that the shooter did not act in self-defense.
Sheriff Woods explained that law enforcement is bound by specific instructions outlined in the law. If there is a possibility that the stand-your-ground defense may apply, an arrest cannot be made until the justification for the use of deadly force is ruled out.
It is worth noting that in a high-profile Florida case in 2018, a sheriff in nearby Pinellas County made a similar claim regarding stand your ground, yet the state’s attorney proceeded to arrest the shooter. In that case, Michael Drejka shot and killed Markeis McGlockton during an argument over a handicapped parking space. Drejka’s stand-your-ground immunity defense was rejected by the court, leading to his eventual conviction on manslaughter charges.
Owens’ family is seeking a similar pursuit of justice for their loved one, emphasizing her dedication as a single mother who cherished her four children.
Owens’ family wants a similar justice for their loved one.
“She loved them with all her being. To know her is to know that her kids were her everything,” Dias said. “My baby was so full of life. She was a single mother of four.”
Sheriff Woods assured that justice would be pursued once all the facts and information are gathered through interviews and investigation.
The ongoing investigation into the shooting has prompted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to contact the state attorney’s office for further guidance.
This case bears some resemblance to the April shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri. Yarl, a 16-year-old, mistakenly went to the wrong address while running an errand to pick up his younger brothers. When he rang the doorbell, he was shot twice through the door, sustaining injuries to his arm and head. Yarl survived the shooting, and 84-year-old Andrew Lester was subsequently charged with two felonies.
