Florida Woman Sprays Bear Mace on Two Black Girls Playing With Bubbles
Two young girls were playing in their yard when their 81-year-old white neighbor allegedly unleashed a chemical weapon — and a familiar kind of hate.
In Ocala, Florida — a city still mourning the memory of A.J. Owens — two little Black girls were blowing bubbles in their front yard. It was supposed to be one of those light moments that often define a Southern childhood: humid air, sidewalk chalk, and joy floating through the breeze.
Instead, it ended with bear mace.
On May 30, 2025, 81-year-old Ada Anderson allegedly walked to the edge of her screened-in porch, opened the door, and sprayed a chemical agent at her neighbors — a Black mother and her daughters, ages 3 and 6 — through the fence that separates their homes. According to the arrest affidavit, Anderson also called the family “fing n**s” as she sprayed.
The 6-year-old later told a deputy her “nose hurt” due to the spray. Deputies confirmed the orange-brown liquid found on the fence and grass was bear mace — a substance designed to stop a 600-pound grizzly, not toddlers.
“Every day since we moved in…”
April Morant, the girls’ mother, says the harassment began from the moment they moved into the neighborhood last November. “She tells us every day... we don’t belong here and we are monkeys,” Morant told ClickOrlando. “And she calls us the N-word.”
Morant said she’s reported Anderson’s behavior to police before. She’s filmed videos and filed complaints. But it wasn’t until the physical spray touched her and her children that she says the state finally took action.
Anderson was arrested and charged with three counts of felony battery, but no hate crime charges were filed — despite eyewitness accounts and video evidence suggesting that race was a motivating factor in the attack. Deputies even noted that they experienced nasal and throat irritation when inspecting the scene.
A Familiar Kind of Fear
The case is disturbing. But in Florida — and especially in Ocala — it’s not unfamiliar.
In June 2023, 35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens, a Black mother of four, was shot and killed by her white neighbor, Susan Lorincz, who also had a documented history of using racial slurs and targeting Owens’ children. The parallels are sobering — two Black mothers, two cases of verbal and physical aggression, and two neighborhoods poisoned by white rage masquerading as fear.
Just months after Owens was murdered, a white couple — Daniel and Kyndall Raatz — were also arrested in Ocala for stalking and harassing an 11-year-old Black boy. According to police reports, the couple hurled a bag of watermelon and cotton at the boy and yelled racial slurs while displaying a gun. They also posted a neighborhood sign labeling the boy’s family “drug dealers” and “bad people.” The couple now faces hate crime charges.
And last year in Sarasota, a Black teenager was reportedly walking through his neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton when white residents began questioning why he was there. One followed him for 10 minutes. Another, according to the teen’s mother, appeared to be retrieving a weapon before a neighbor intervened. The teen was simply getting air and trying to find cellphone service. The sheriff’s office announced a month later that they were closing the investigation without filing charges — leaving the teen’s family with no legal resolution.
In all cases, the children were doing what children do. And in all cases, white adults responded with suspicion and racist threats.
Like Lorincz, Anderson has a history, too. In 2019, she was arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon and stalking — yet she remained in the neighborhood, unchecked.
For Morant, that’s what keeps her up at night.
“Yesterday I told [the police] she is playing with my babies, and that’s a very, very dangerous game to play, she wrote on Facebook. “They took her to jail and charged her with battery. I really just wanna move from next to her… I’m not sure how far she might go since she feels like my beautiful Black skin doesn’t belong in her neighborhood.”
When the System Spells Hate Crime Wrong
Despite the evidence — from phone videos to firsthand testimony — the system has stopped short of calling it a hate crime. And as with so many cases involving Black kids in Southern towns, the burden of protection has fallen on the victim’s family.
Morant has since launched a GoFundMe to raise $15,000 to move her daughters to a safer home: “Imagine the pain. Imagine the fear,” she writes. “Imagine your babies screaming while someone who hates the color of their skin attacks them for existing…”
As of now, Anderson has been released on bond. Her next court date is scheduled for July 1.
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights and feedback, and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please email me at editor@13thandsouth.com. Also, feel free to connect with me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.
What a horrible human being. That was the essence of a hate crime.
This injustice is heartbreaking and infuriating.