An 81-year-old Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly pepper-spraying two young girls and shouting racial slurs at them — all because they were blowing bubbles in their driveway, according to authorities.
April Morant of Ocala says her daughters, just 6 and 3 years old, were simply playing with bubbles outside on May 30 when their neighbor, Ada Anderson, approached the metal fence that separates their yards and sprayed bear mace at them. Morant called 911 to report the incident, which she says left her and her children coughing and in pain.
“She walked up and sprayed us through the fence while yelling the N-word,” Morant told responding deputies, according to an arrest affidavit. She also told law enforcement this wasn’t the first time Anderson had hurled racial slurs at her family, describing the harassment as a near-daily occurrence since they moved into the neighborhood last November.
The 6-year-old victim told police her nose hurt from the spray. Morant added that her lungs were burning from the chemical. Deputies later noted the strong smell of pepper spray and found an orange-brown substance on the victims’ grass and fence — a sign of how close the spray came.
When questioned, Anderson claimed the girls were running along the fence and yelling at her, so she opened her porch screen and sprayed pepper spray in their direction. She insisted the spray didn’t reach them because her porch is 40 feet away, though deputies found that hard to believe given the physical evidence.
Anderson was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree felony battery. Because the alleged attack was racially motivated, the charges are enhanced under Florida’s hate crime statutes.
Morant told local station ClickOrlando that her neighbor has made it clear she doesn’t want her family in the neighborhood. “She tells us every day we don’t belong here, that we’re monkeys, and uses the N-word constantly,” she said. “It’s like she’s trying to force us out.”
Anderson is due in court on July 1.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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