An 81-year-old Florida woman is accused of using bear spray on a mother and her two young children while they were playing with bubbles and calling them racial epithets.
Ada Anderson faces three counts of battery. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, a woman and her two children, ages three and six, were outside their Ocala home playing with bubble toys on Friday. When their neighbor, Anderson, approached the fence between their two properties, he allegedly sprayed bear mace at them while yelling “stupid n—s.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to receive the most recent real-life crime stories directly to your inbox.
According to the affidavit, the spray hit them and affected their lungs. Police interviewed the 6-year-old girl, who claimed it made her “nose hurt.” The mother claimed Anderson had yelled racial slurs at her and her children “multiple times” in the past. According to the affidavit, she recorded a video of Anderson earlier in the day in which she appears to be holding the bear spray. She allegedly yelled “neighborhood … f—ing n—.” Anderson is white, and the victims are black.
Deputies examined the fence and discovered what appeared to be bear spray residue. It caused irritation in the deputy’s nose and throat.
Anderson informed deputies that the victims were “running up and down the fence and yelling at her,” so she sprayed mace from her front porch. She claimed the victims were not touched. However, deputies noted that the porch is approximately 40 feet from the fence.
Police arrested Anderson and transported her to the Marion County Jail, where she has since posted a $6,000 bond. She was appointed a public defender, and her next court appearance is set for July 1.
According to records, she was previously arrested for aggravated assault in 2019 and stalking in 2017. The assault charge was also related to a neighbor dispute, but prosecutors decided not to pursue it.
