New details on fatal shooting

Memorial near site of shooting on June 6, 2023. [Andy Filmore]

Susan Lorincz, the woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens after an altercation with Owens and the victims’ children on June 2, has admitted to investigators that she has used racial slurs toward Owens’ children in the past, swung an umbrella at one of them the night of the fatal encounter, and bought a pair of handguns after a run-in with Owens last year.

New details emerging from Marion County Sheriff’s Office interviews conducted with Lorincz as well as witnesses and others in the Quail Run area reveal Lorincz used racial slurs including the N word more than once against the children including telling one, “This isn’t the underground railroad, slave.’’

Reports also show Lorincz was allowed to keep and use her cellphone for roughly two hours while she sat in a deputy’s cruiser after the shooting. A forensic review found that video from one of her two security cameras was captured on her phone from that night, but it does not show anything after the initial 8:40 p.m. incident. Forensics experts said it does not appear she deleted any video from the security camera app on her phone.

Lorincz, 58, has been arrested on a felony charge of manslaughter with a firearm and misdemeanor counts of culpable negligence, two counts of assault and a count of battery.

On June 9, bond for Lorincz was set at $154,000, according to the Office of the State Attorney, Fifth Judicial Circuit, “with the condition that an ankle monitor be worn if the defendant bonds out of jail.” A check of the jail inmate search late Tuesday indicated she remains incarcerated.

The arrest affidavit narrative provides new details of the events the night of June 2 while also providing more context of a dispute between two neighbors dating back more than a year.

On the night of the fatal shooting, Lorincz was overheard by neighbors yelling at children who were playing basketball in the street while others played in a grassy field that serves as a common area for residents in the neighborhood of quadplexes on Southwest 107^th Lane in Ocala.

Owens’ oldest son, Isaac, 12, told deputies he had been playing basketball in the street while his 10-year-old brother Israel was playing in the grassy area. Israel said he left his tablet on the ground and Lorincz, who had been outside videoing the kids with her cellphone while giving them the middle finger and using slurs, picked it up. When Isaac approached her and said give it back, she threw the tablet, hitting Israel in the foot, then started swinging an umbrella at Isaac and threw a pair of roller skates at the children.

Isaac told Israel to go get their mother, while Lorincz went back inside. She called 911 at 8:54 p.m. to report three kids who lived across the street were outside her door and were trespassing on her property and one threatened to beat her up.

Meanwhile, Owens, 35, and Israel went to Lorincz’ house, and Owens was heard by neighbors shouting for Lorincz to come outside and, “Throw something at me.’’

While the deputies were enroute from Lorincz’ first call, several 911 calls came in regarding the shooting. Lorincz then called 911 a second time and said a woman was trying to break down her door and was yelling at her.

Lorincz then said she had fired a shot through the door. Owens staggered away from the door and collapsed on the grass, telling her son to call 911. Isaac used his mother’s phone to call for help.

Lorincz told deputies later that she had a headache that night and the kids outside were screaming and yelling. She went outside and told them they were trespassing and needed to leave. She said the kids were not on her patio by her front door but on the grass between the buildings, which she insisted was her property. The buildings are owned by Charles Gabbard, who told deputies the grassy area is considered a common area available to all of the residents.

Lorincz admitted that she threw the roller skates into the yard and told the kids, “Go fetch them.’’ She initially said she was carrying an umbrella but had not swung it at any time. After being told that witnesses disputed that, she said she did swing it at the kids but did not intend to hit them.

Lorincz said when Owens was knocking on the front door, she said to herself, “Oh my God, she’s really going to kill me this time.’’ She said there have been altercations with Owens before, but Owens never threatened her.

She said she then went into her bedroom and retrieved a Remington .380 pistol she said she bought a year ago for protection. Deputies later found a loaded Ruger 22-caliber pistol in the trash can as well as a spent Blazer 380 Auto shell casing in the kitchen.

The report notes Lorincz said Owens was trying “as hard as she could’’ to enter her home, while admitting that Owens did not rattle the door handle. Lorincz also said she had had an “extra-long deadbolt lock’’ installed on her door, which also had a security chain.

Lorincz’ apartment unit also had two security cameras installed, one attached to the glass sliding door by the front door patio, and the other facing the parking lot. She said her cameras can be accessed through an app on her cellphone, which she unlocked for investigators. Deputies did not find any videos after about 8:40 p.m. on the night of the shooting.

A forensics search of the phone later found several pictures and videos taken the evening of the shooting depicting children playing in the yard, but nothing showing any altercations.

For roughly two hours while she sat in the back of a patrol car as deputies worked the scene, Lorincz still had her cellphone with her. Video from the patrol car showed that during that time, Lorincz was using her phone based on the screen lighting up, but they could not determine what she was doing on the phone.

Lorincz said she did not delete any recordings, and forensic experts said it does not appear she has deleted any data from the app.

Neighbor Franklin Colon said Lorincz was always yelling at the kids and calling in false police reports on them. He said Lorincz was known to harass the kids including videorecording them with her phone in the field, which she insisted belonged to her and where she posted a no trespassing sign.

Another neighbor, Yvonne Costa, said she had spoken with Owens and Lorincz in the past. She said Owens had always been nice to her and that Lorincz was always yelling at the kids playing in the field. She said she did not understand why Lorincz was so upset about “kids being kids.’’

One of Owens’ children reported Lorincz called him and other kids “bastards” and “jackasses’’ and told them, “This isn’t the underground railroad, slave.’’ He said Lorincz came out to video the kids playing, gave them the middle finger and told them, “Get away from my house, you black slave.’’

Deputies discussed with Lorincz allegations she used racial slurs toward the kids. She admitted using the N word out of anger and calling them other derogatory names.

During the interview, Lorincz stated that what Owens did was not “reasonable or prudent.’’ When deputies asked why she was using those words, Lorincz said she had researched self-defense information online as well as researching Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Incident reports

The following are reports from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office related to incidents and calls for service from 2021 to the present at the homes of Susan Lorincz and Ajike Owens.

Incident: Jan. 16, 2021

Names and addresses redacted.

Report was a 911 call and hang-up. A deputy responded and the incident was cleared.

Incident: Feb. 25, 2022

Susan Lorincz, 57, of 1662 SW 107^th Lane, Ocala called 911 to report a battery. Lorincz said she and her neighbor Ajike Owens, 34, got into an argument because she said Owens’ dog was on her property. She said she had a no trespassing sign in her yard and had previously warned neighbors to stay off her property. An argument ensued and Lorincz said Owens picked up the no trespassing sign and threw it at her, hitting left shin and causing a red mark. Lorincz called MCSO and Owens went home. Deputies observed no visible injuries or marks on Lorincz’ shin. Lorincz said she recorded incident on cell phone and showed deputies two photos that showed Owens yelling at her but not throwing the sign.

Owens told deputies there had been an argument but nothing physical occurred. Owens noted that Lorincz is an apartment tenant and does not own the property, and the lot is public. She admitted to throwing the sign away.

No arrest was made because deputies observed no visible injuries, plus there were conflicting statements and no eyewitnesses. MCSO placed the case on inactive status, pending new info.

Incident: Oct. 10, 2022

Names and addresses redacted.

911 hang-up; incident closed

Incident: April 4, 2023

Ajike Owens, 1663 SW 107^th Lane, called to report a stolen cellphone. She advised MCSO that she would prefer to file a report online and was advised of the MCSO website and the process.

Incident: April 17, 2023

Susan Lorincz called 911 to report that Ajike Owens was opening her mailbox. Said she is not missing any mail but was advised by the Post Office inspector she would need a police report for them to take over the case. MCSO closed the case.

Incident: June 2, 2023

Susan Lorincz calls 911 to report that she has shot someone who was banging on her front door. She reports a female neighbor had been screaming and yelling at her.

MCSO reports Ajike Owens went to Lorincz’ apartment after Lorincz yelled at Owens’ children as they played in a vacant lot and threw a pair of skates that hit one of Owens’ children. Deputies responding to the 911 call for trespassing found Owens suffering from a gunshot wound. Owens was transported to an Ocala hospital, where she died.