Family Calling for Justice After Florida Mom is Shot and Killed After Neighborhood Dispute Escalates

A family is calling for justice after a Florida mother of four was shot and killed through a closed door following a dispute with her neighbor.

At a news conference on Monday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said that Ajike Owens, 35, was shot and killed after going to the Ocala, FL, apartment of her neighbor who had earlier yelled at Owens’ kids as they were playing nearby and threw an object, striking one of them. While Woods said it pair of skates, Ben Crump, one of the attorneys representing Owens’ family, said it was an iPad. Owens went to retrieve it from the neighbor who took it when the kids accidentally left it on the field they were playing in.

This is Ajike “AJ” Owens — a mother of 4 fatally shot after she reportedly knocked on the door of a white woman’s residence to retrieve her child’s iPad. It’s believed that Owens’ children accidentally left the device behind in a field they were playing in, & the woman took it. pic.twitter.com/jfC6JJdQCS

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 5, 2023

On Friday, police found Owens with gunshot wounds when they arrived at the shooter’s apartment in response to a trespassing call. She was pronounced dead shortly after being brought to a nearby hospital.

“I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,” Woods said. “I wish Ms. Owens would have called us in the hopes we could have never gotten to the point at which we are here today.”