A white Florida woman was convicted of manslaughter on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a black neighbor amid an ongoing dispute over children playing noisily outside her home.

An all-white jury in Ocala, Florida, found the 60-year-old Susan Lorincz after 2 1/2 hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison when the verdict is announced.

Lorincz had claimed self-defense when she fired a single shot with a .380-caliber handgun through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens. Lorincz told investigators in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life as Owens screamed and pounded on her door.

“I started to panic and thought, ‘Oh my God, she’s really going to kill me this time,'” Lorincz told Marion County sheriff’s investigators. “And so I don’t even remember picking up the gun, I just remember shooting.”

The confrontation took place during a dispute between Lorincz and Owens about his children They were playing on a lawn near their two homes. Lorincz said in the interview that she was harassed for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.

The victim’s relatives burst into tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with the officers. When the verdict was announced, she showed no reaction or emotion.

District Judge Robert W. Hodges did not set an immediate sentencing date, but ordered a background report on Lorincz.

Anthony Thomas, a lawyer for the Owens family, said they would seek the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Thomas told reporters after the verdict was announced. “The jury did its job today. Now it’s up to Judge Hodges to do his job and give the best sentence possible, which is the maximum sentence.”

Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said the guilty verdict was a comfort to her.

“We have achieved some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,” Dias told reporters outside the courthouse. “It was a long road to this point, to this verdict. I have found some peace with this verdict.”

District Attorney William Gladson, whose office prosecuted the case, said it was “a tragic reminder” of the consequences of gun violence.

“The defendant’s decisions have left four young children without their mother, a loss they will feel for the rest of their lives,” Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict cannot bring AJ back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

Attorney Ben Crump released a statement following the verdict, saying, “We are deeply grateful that the jury returned a guilty verdict in this heartbreaking case. AJ Owens was a devoted mother whose life was tragically cut short. Her children, including a young son who witnessed this horrific act, have had to bear the burden of her loss. This verdict is a critical step toward obtaining justice for AJ and her family. While nothing can ease the pain they have endured, today’s decision sends a clear message that senseless violence will be held accountable.”

In his closing argument, prosecutor Rich Buxman said there was no evidence that Owens posed an immediate physical threat to Lorincz, but he came to the defendants’ home after her children complained that Lorincz had allegedly thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them during a sustained harassment caused by their boisterous outdoor play.

“It’s not a crime to bang on someone’s door. It’s not a crime to scream,” Buxman told jurors. “There was no immediate danger when she fired the gun.”

A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens’ aggressive behavior and was legally allowed to fire her weapon under Florida’s “stand your ground” law. An autopsy found that Owens weighed about 290 pounds, making her much larger and younger than Lorincz, and the two had previously clashed.

“She is capable of defending herself,” said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender. “She only had a split second to decide whether or not to fire her weapon.”

Lorincz did not testify in her own defense, but said in an interview with investigators that was played to the jury that she never intended to harm Owens. Still, in a 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, “I’m just sick of these kids.”

“She wasn’t afraid. She was angry,” Buxman said.

Owens’ family has expressed surprise that no black jurors were selected for the trial, given the racially sensitive nature of the case. There were protests in the black community when The public prosecutor needed weeks Lorincz is charged with manslaughter, a less serious charge than premeditated murder that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The county clerk’s office said in an email that of the 70 jurors in the original pool, eight were black. That compares with 49 who were white, and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as “other,” the clerk’s office said, citing records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Ocala is located about 80 miles northwest of Orlando in central Florida. According to the census, Marion County’s black population is about 12%.