Florida woman arrested for spraying bear mace at children who were playing with bubbles, cops say
Ada Anderson, 81, was previously charged with assaulting another neighbor
An elderly Florida woman was arrested after allegedly spraying bear mace at her neighbor and two young children as they played with bubbles in their driveway.
Ada Anderson, 81, was arrested on May 30 and charged with three counts of battery after officials responded to a home in Ocala, Marion County.
Police said the neighbor, later identified as April Morant, and her daughters, aged three and six, were having fun in the driveway of their home on Pine Court Drive when the incident occurred.
Bear mace is a chemical with a high concentration of oleoresin capsicum, which is also used to make chili peppers hot. Mace irritates the eyes, nose, and respiratory system, causing temporary discomfort and disorientation.
Morant also reported that Anderson had yelled racial slurs at her and her children and claimed she had done so in other altercations.
When officials arrived at the scene, she provided them with a photo of Anderson holding what looked like bear mace on her porch, according to Fox 35. Evidence of the mace was also still visible on Morant’s fence, police said.
The woman’s porch is about 40 feet away from the fence. Anderson claimed Morant and her children had been running around the area near the fence and yelled at her, which is what prompted her to use the irritant on them.
Speaking to the outlet, Morant said Anderson had been harassing her for months.
"I look at my peripheral view, she's at the gate with what I thought at first, I thought it was a gun, so I was startled....but it was like bear mace," said the mother.
"A big cloud came, so I rushed the kids in like, ‘go in the house, go in the house,’ and so then I called the police on her — and then I found out she did it twice, and I didn't even know it was twice until my daughter let the officer know."
According to the TV station, Anderson had previously been arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon and stalking. That incident reportedly also involved a neighbor.