A family torn apart by gun violence works to turn trauma into hope, prevention and support for others

By Chris Boyette, CNN

(CNN) — After the sentencing of Susan Lorincz – the White woman who fatally shot her Black neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, through an apartment door in a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home – the victim’s mother said her family could finally start to heal.

“Now, we truly can forge ahead on the journey of true healing that we so often speak about,” Pamela Dias said after her daughter’s killer was ordered in 2024 to serve 25 years in a Florida state prison.

But that hasn’t always come easy, Dias said this month.

In a nation where firearms-related violence – from escalated personal disputes to attacks involving race and even political assassinations – continue unabated, Owens’ family set out to foster its own healing by supporting other victims through fundraising for their near-term needs, pressing to change key gun laws and advocating for racial justice.

“No sentence or verdict can ever bring full peace or accountability for what was taken from our family,” Dias told CNN. “Our focus remains on honoring Ajike’s legacy through justice, healing and community care.”

Transforming grief into action

Owens was killed June 2, 2023, when she knocked on Lorincz’s door after her children – whose outdoor play had become a point of contention between the neighbors – told their mother the neighbor had thrown a pair of roller skates. Lorincz called police, then fired a gun through the front door of her apartment, killing Owens. She later claimed she feared for her life. A jury found Lorincz guilty of manslaughter.

“I am so sorry I took AJ’s life. I never intended to kill her,” Lorincz said at her sentencing, adding she felt confused the night of the shooting because Owens was screaming. CNN has reached out to her attorney.

Now, the core mission of the non-profit Standing in the Gap Fund, which Dias started with the older sister of Owens’ best friend, is to support families impacted by gun and racial violence and to fight for change.

“What began as a response to unimaginable tragedy has grown into a movement for justice, healing and collective care,” cofounder Takema Robinson told CNN. “We believe the path to change is twofold: care for families today and reform for tomorrow.”

That includes offering “rapid-response grants to families” after a gun attack, she said. The group also advocates for legislative change, including challenging so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws – like the one Lorincz tried to use – that let people use deadly force in self-defense in certain situations without fear of criminal prosecution; such measures have been linked to increased homicide rates.

“We’re not just responding to violence; we’re helping communities reimagine safety and belonging,” Robinson said, adding the Standing the Gap Fund also invests in arts and storytelling “as tools for justice and healing.”

Operating as a donor-advised fund hosted by the Greater Washington Community Foundation, it aims to begin providing grants to families and political organizers by 2027, Robinson said.

“The Fund was born out of that need – to transform grief into action,” Dias said. “Supporting this fund isn’t charity – it’s community care in action. Together, we can ensure no one else has to stand in the gap alone.”

Gun violence continues to devastate

For Dias, honoring her daughter and healing her family means helping others as firearms continue to cut lives short every day, with more than 11,000 people killed by a gun so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“Each new tragedy is a painful reminder of what we have endured,” Dias said.

Owens’ death, at 35, called to mind other killings, particularly of Black people, over seemingly simple misunderstandings: Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was chased and shot dead while jogging in 2020 in south Georgia by three White men now serving life sentences in the case; Trayvon Martin, 17, was walking home from a Florida store when he was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain, an act for which the shooter was acquitted.

More than two years after Owens’ death, “our healing is ongoing – for me, for our family, and for the broader community still reeling from such a violent and traumatic incident,” Dias said.

“We’re deeply aware that gun violence continues to devastate communities across the nation – and our story is part of that larger reality.”

‘Love can be louder than hate’

Dias hopes her daughter somehow knows her life continues to inspire action and community care and “her name is now tied to change,” the mother said.

“My daughter and I would often have conversations about what we wanted out of life, and she would tell me, ‘One day the world will know my name,’” Dias said. “My daughter’s story reminds the world that love can be louder than hate. We carry that love forward in everything we do – ensuring that her legacy is not defined by tragedy but by transformation.”

Everyone has a right to live, love and be safe in their own communities, Dias said.

“My daughter, Ajike, was joyful, vibrant and devoted to her four children. She was supermom. She was the football mom … She worked hard to provide a better life for them,” she said, calling Owens their “compass.”

After losing their mother, navigating life has not been easy, Dias said.

“It’s been very hard for the children – they were very young when they lost their mother, and it’s something no child should have to endure,” she said. “At the same time, they’ve shown strength and resilience that continues to amaze me.

“I can see the values my daughter instilled in them – her kindness, her love, her faith – and that means they carry a piece of her wherever they go.”

For Dias, her daughter’s values and legacy are what it’s all about.

“Our message is simple,” she said: “When we stand together, we heal together.”

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