OCALA, Fla. – An 81-year-old Ocala woman was arrested on allegations of pepper-spraying children, ages 3 and 6, as they were playing with bubbles outside their home.
Ada Anderson was arrested Saturday on a felony battery charge.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post made on Monday that deputies were called to a home on Pine Court Drive for a disturbance.
According to an arrest affidavit, a woman said she and her daughters were in their driveway playing with bubble toys when their neighbor, identified by authorities as Anderson, walked to a fence separating their properties and sprayed “bear mace” at them.
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The mother said the spray touched her and the girls and her lungs were affected, according to the affidavit. The 6-year-old girl said her nose hurt because of the spray, according to the affidavit.
The woman said Anderson also made racial slurs while she sprayed them, according to authorities.
Deputies said an orange/brown liquid was found on the fence and grass on the victims’ property. The substance, which authorities said was pepper spray, caused irritation to the deputies’ noses and throats.
[Watch the body-cam video of the arrest below]
“She tells us every day, like, an everyday occurrence, every day since we’ve been here, we don’t belong here,” said April Morant, the mother of the girls. “And we are monkeys. And she calls us the N word. So, it’s always something. So, I know she’s doing whatever she can to make me move.”
Morant moved to the neighborhood in November and claims Anderson has continuously harassed her family. Anderson refused to comment when News 6 asked for an interview to hear her side of the story.
According to the affidavit, Anderson said the girls were running up and down the fence line while yelling at her, so she opened the door to her porch and sprayed the liquid at them, but claimed it did not touch them because they were 40 feet away.
Anderson was placed under arrest and taken to the Marion County jail. She was released from jail Sunday night after posting bond, according to online records.
A neighbor across the street, who has lived in the area for 30 years, defended Anderson’s actions.
“She takes care of her own business,” said Gary Weber.
When News 6 asked if he was OK with the pepper spraying, he said yes.
Morant has obtained a restraining order against Anderson but fears for her and her children’s safety.
“I felt like she should have been charged with a hate crime or charge against kids. Like, because, you know, you don’t do nothing like that and I don’t trust nothing she does,” Morant told News 6.
[VIDEO BELOW: Mother of 4 shot, killed by neighbor]