Daughter killed over a child’s game inspires family’s mission to rewrite America’s gun violence story

There are two acceptable ways of dealing with the aftermath of gun violence: seeking justice and finding acceptance. For the family of Ajike “AJ” Owens, however, they wanted to take things a step further and turn their grief into advocacy against gun violence.

Right now, the issue of gun violence is all but accepted as something Americans should simply adjust to. Guns are now being used to resolve petty neighborhood misunderstandings, political differences, and everything in between. Gun violence has become so normalized that in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death, there was a discussion about almost everything surrounding it — even how people should grieve — except the issue of gun violence itself.

On June 23, 2023, Susan Lorincz heard a knock on her door. Lorincz had been having frequent disagreements with the children of her neighbors, often upset when they played near her property. On this fateful day, she decided to throw away the roller skates belonging to the children playing there. The person knocking on her door that day happened to be Owens — and Lorincz shot her over the confrontation.

Her story has since been immortalized in one of Netflix’s most striking true-crime documentaries, The Perfect Neighbor. Lorincz was arrested and is now serving her sentence. When CNN sought her comment after the tragic event, she said, “I am so sorry I took AJ’s life. I never intended to kill her.” Lorincz insists she panicked that day because she was being screamed at.

Pamela Dias, however, shared that her family’s quest for justice had to evolve after Lorincz’s conviction. “No sentence or verdict can ever bring full peace or accountability for what was taken from our family,” Dias said. “Our focus remains on honoring Ajike’s legacy through justice, healing, and community care.”

They have since started a nonprofit called the Standing in the Gap Fund. The organization aims to bring awareness to gun and racial justice — but it doesn’t stop there. It also plans to offer grants to families affected by gun violence and to challenge laws such as Stand Your Ground. Their goal is to encourage people to reimagine what safety looks like within a community.

This year alone, over 11,000 people have been killed by firearms in the United States. The new nonprofit’s mission is to find ways to reduce these instances of violence however possible. Reflecting on her daughter’s legacy, Dias shared, “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.”

Gun violence has evolved beyond being a partisan issue or a simple crime-rate statistic. It’s a crisis that deserves dedicated attention. And Dias and her organization have made it their mission to educate people about the senseless violence that guns can cause — and it’s hard to argue with that.

Dias shared that her greatest sorrow regarding her daughter’s death is that her grandchildren will grow up without a mother. However, she takes consolation in knowing that her daughter’s kindness lives on through them. For Dias, it’s all about preventing such tragedies from happening across America.