OCALA, Fla. — A mother of four was shot and killed by a neighbor in Ocala, Florida, on Friday.
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The family of AJ Owens is asking the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to arrest the shooter, but the sheriff’s office says they are still investigating.
Investigators say the shooting happened on Friday on 108th Lane east of I-75.
According to neighbors of Owens and the shooter, the whole thing started with Owens’ children playing on a field next to the shooter’s house Friday evening, which the shooter didn’t like.
Neighbors said the children left an iPad behind and the shooter took it.
When the children went to get it back, deputies said the shooter threw a pair of skates at the children. Owens then went to confront that person and was shot.
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Her children ran to a neighbor’s house asking them to call the police.
“She’ll come out and just yell at them, call them names, call the police. All of us have talked to the police about her attitude toward the children,” neighbor Ashley Remy said.
The shooter told authorities that Owens was banging on doors and yelling when the shooting happened.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says they are still investigating and will determine if they will file charges once they have all the facts.
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“We are committed to gathering all the facts before making a decision,” said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods.
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Channel 9′s legal expert Bill Sheaffer said the sheriff’s hands are tied.
“In order to arrest, the police would have to establish probable cause that the shooting was not a result of stand your ground or self-defense,” Sheaffer said, adding that is almost impossible right now.
Sheaffer said the law works in her favor since the shooter was inside her home.
“Since the law provides greater protection for an individual that’s in their home or in an automobile to use deadly force, one could argue that she was justified if she was in fear that this woman was breaking into her home.”
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