Florida woman arrested after shooting neighbour

Sheriff's office says suspect's actions do not fall under state's stand-your-ground law

A protester with a poster of Ajike Owens at the Marion County Courthouse in Ocala, Florida. AP

A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbour last week after a lengthy feud has been arrested, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office has said.

Susan Louise Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault stemming from the June 2 death of Ajike Owens, a black woman, the office said in a statement posted on Facebook.

According to the sheriff's office, Ms Lorincz fired one shot through the door when Ms Owens went to confront her neighbour about arguing with her children. Ms Lorincz allegedly threw a roller skate at Ms Owens's 10-year-old son during the argument.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing Ms Owens's family in the case, said that Ms Lorincz had used racial slurs when arguing with the children. The sheriff's office has not confirmed if racial slurs were used during the altercation or if race played a factor in the shooting.

Ms Lorincz claimed to have acted in self-defence, arguing that Ms Owens had tried to break down her door before she fired her gun. Ms Lorincz also claimed her neighbour had previously attacked her.

Sheriff Billy Woods said the shooting did not fall under Florida's stand-your-ground law, which states that a person has the right to use force if they believe it is necessary to prevent death or great harm.

This case, Sheriff Woods said, was “simply a killing”.

“Through their investigation – including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses who only came forward as late as yesterday – detectives were able to establish that Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law,” the sheriff's office said.

In a similar incident earlier this year, a man in Missouri fatally shot Ralph Yarl after the 16-year-old mistakenly walked up to the suspect's Kansas City home.

The teenager approached Andrew Lester's home to pick up his younger siblings, who were instead at a nearby house with a similar address.

Mr Lester has been charged with first-degree assault, which could result in life in prison.

Missouri and Florida are among about 30 states that have stand-your-ground laws.