OCALA, Fla. – Loved ones of Ajike “AJ” Owens gathered Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil in Ocala’s Downtown Square to honor the 35-year-old mother’s life and call for justice in her death.
Also dubbed a night of community healing, the vigil lasted from about 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to organizers with War Cry for Peace, an advocacy and support group for victims of gun violence.
Tarlisa Brown, Kimberly Robinson, and Velecia Woodyard — described in a news release as AJ’s cherished friends — joined War Cry for Peace in leading the vigil.
“I want to say to them that we love you, and we are here for you,” said Kimberly Wilkerson, the president of Wary Cry for Peace. “We stand with you. We’re not going anywhere.”
Owens’ funeral was held Monday at the Meadowbrook Church, drawing more than 1,000 people from across the nation including civil rights activist, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy.
“Right is right and wrong is wrong and we got to stand together when there is wrong,” Sharpton said. “If a Black mom would have shot through the door at a white kid, you would have arrested her that night.”
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Owens was shot on June 2 after walking with her son to the front door of her neighbor, 58-year-old Susan Lorincz, to confront her after she allegedly took an iPad from one of Owens’ four children and threw roller skates at them. The shooting was the culmination of an alleged neighborhood feud, with Marion County deputies having been called to the area a dozen times before it happened.
[RELATED: Who is Ajike Owens? Mother of 4 fatally shot by neighbor in Florida had ‘heart of gold’]
Lorincz was arrested days later, on June 6, with Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods saying ahead of time that authorities had come under pressure to charge Lorincz and needed to confer with the State Attorney’s Office on her self-defense claims, as the 58-year-old told deputies Owens was trying to break her door down.
In Woods’ words at a later news conference held to announce charges against Lorincz, he described the case as “simply a killing,” with sheriff’s office statements citing eyewitness accounts and other investigative findings to establish Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law.
[RELATED: What to know about Susan Lorincz, suspect in shooting of Ocala mother Ajike Owens]
Attendees to Wednesday’s vigil were encouraged to bring flowers, stuffed animals and other symbolic items, as well as to wear purple in honor of AJ’s favorite color.
Lorincz faces charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
She has not posted bond and was still in jail at last check.
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