Attorney for woman shot in Florida: 'The family had no answers'

Scripps News spoke Wednesday with Anthony D. Thomas, the lawyer for the household of Ajike Owens, the Florida parent who was changeable and killed by her neighbour past week. 

Authorities accidental 58-year-old Susan Lawrence was taken into custody Tuesday for the June 2 shooting of Owens. 

Police accidental the confrontation stemmed from a years-long feud betwixt the 2 women. Lawrence told constabulary she changeable successful self-defense aft Owens, a parent of four, tried to interruption down her door. 

Police defended the hold successful arresting Lawrence. Florida's "stand your ground" instrumentality holds that constabulary cannot apprehension idiosyncratic for a shooting unless they tin beryllium that the shooter did not enactment successful self-defense. Florida Sheriff Billy Woods said they made the apprehension aft an probe showed Lawrence's actions were unjustifiable nether the law.

But Thomas told Scripps News that successful the meantime, Owens' household was near successful the dark.

"A parent was unjustifiably killed successful beforehand of her children, and the sheriff's section allowed [Lawrence] initially to usage the information that she claimed that she was successful fearfulness of her life, erstwhile each the grounds was determination to beryllium oregon to supply the sheriffs with probable origin to marque an arrest," Thomas said.

"[Sheriff Woods] told maine erstwhile I had my speech with him that helium needed much witnesses, and surely we wanted to springiness him clip to bash so. But it had not been successful a timely manner. The household members wanted answers."

"This incident, shooting, sidesplitting — happened Friday night. And from Friday nighttime to Monday morning, the household had nary answers," Thomas said. "There was nary 1 calling, determination was nary detective. As a substance of fact, the parent of Ajike Owens had tried to scope retired to instrumentality enforcement and she was told to telephone backmost during concern hours."

White pistillate arrested successful shooting decease of Black neighbor

The pistillate faces aggregate charges aft she changeable Ajike Owens done her beforehand doorway during an altercation implicit Owens' children playing nearby.

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Police accidental Lawrence is charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, artillery and 2 counts of assault.

Thomas says helium and the remainder of the Owens' ineligible squad volition "seek the accidental to marque definite the state's lawyer does his occupation and prosecutes Susan astatine the highest grade of the law."