Killing of Ajike Owens

On June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida, 35-year-old Ajike "A ." Shantrell Owens was shot and killed by her neighbor, 58-year-old Susan Louise Lorincz. Owens had gone to Lorincz's door after an altercation between her children and Lorincz in a grassy area nearby. While Owens stood outside the windowless front door, Lorincz fired a single shot through it, striking Owens in the chest. Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff's Office were already en route to the residence in response to a report of "trespassing" when a second 911 call reported gunfire. Upon arrival, officers found Owens on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The shooting drew national attention, igniting renewed debate over Florida's stand-your-ground law and the intersection of race, self-defense, and neighborhood disputes. Civil rights advocates, including attorney Benjamin Crump, argued that Owens's killing underscored systemic bias in how such laws are applied; Crump publicly called for Lorincz's arrest in the days following the killing. Lorincz was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. During interrogation, she claimed she acted in fear for her safety, though investigators later stated that forensic evidence contradicted elements of her account. In August 2024, following a week-long trial in Marion County Circuit Court, Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter with a firearm. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison that November. In 2025, the case became the subject of the documentary film The Perfect Neighbor.