June 9 (UPI) -- A white Florida woman accused of shooting through a closed door and killing her Black neighbor was granted bond Friday.
Authorities say Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, shot Ajike "AJ" Owens, 35, on June 2 in Ocala, Fla.
According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Lorincz had a long-running feud with Owens. The sheriff's office said that at 9 p.m. EDT on the day of the shooting, Lorincz "engaged in an argument" with Owens' children after becoming angry because they were playing in a field near her residence. Lorincz then threw a skate at Owens' 10-year-old son and swung an umbrella at him, authorities said.
After the initial encounter, Owens knocked on Lorincz door, at which point Lorincz shot her through the closed door. Owens was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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Lorincz was arrested Tuesday and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, assault, and culpable negligence.
Owens' family had insisted Lorincz be arrested soon after the incident, but the sheriff's office said consideration of the state's "stand your ground" provision complicated a speedy arrest.
According to an arrest affidavit, Lorincz told investigators that she was acting in self-defense and that "she felt like she was in 'mortal danger.'"
Judge Robert W. Hodges set bond at $4,000 for four misdemeanor charges and at between $150,000 and $154,000 for the charge of manslaughter.
The state had asked the judge to set the bond at $200,000.
Lorincz told the court she could only afford "like $1,700," for the bond.
The court ordered Lorincz to stay in Florida, wear an ankle monitor, and refrain from any contact with Owens' family if she posts bond.
While Florida has controversial "stand your ground" laws, Sheriff Billy Woods said the shooting was "simply a killing," and not justified.
Court filings reveal Lorincz admitted to investigators that she had used a racial slur against Owens' children.
"The reality is -- if the roles were reversed, and you have a Black woman shoot a white woman through a locked metal door -- nobody would say it's a difficult case," Ben Crump, the lawyer representing the Owens family, said at a news conference Wednesday.
