Ocala, Florida – A Florida mother is speaking out after an 81-year-old woman was arrested and charged with felony battery for allegedly spraying bear mace at her daughters, ages 3 and 6. The incident occurred after months of racial harassment directed at the family since they moved in next door.
Ada Anderson was arrested last month and faces felony charges for allegedly using a racial slur against the children before spraying them with mace. The children had been playing with bubbles in their driveway when the incident occurred.
The Incident and Initial Response
April Morant, the children’s mother, described the terrifying moment when she saw Anderson holding a can of mace, which she initially thought was a gun. “She was saying something to us, but I wasn’t paying her any attention.
I thought it was a gun in her hand, and it was the mace,” Morant told WCJB. “We all know it was mace because she started spraying it. It was like a big thing of bear mace.”
Months of Racial Harassment
Morant said she and her daughters moved into the Ocala neighborhood in November 2024, and that Anderson began harassing them almost immediately. According to Morant, Anderson repeatedly called her children derogatory names. Despite this, Morant told her daughters to ignore the comments.
However, the situation escalated when Morant herself heard Anderson use the N-word and tell her that they didn’t belong in the neighborhood. Morant also claimed that Anderson made derogatory remarks about her daughters’ appearance. “My other daughter comes out and she’s like, ‘Oh, look at the whales,’” Morant said, adding that this racial harassment continued over the following months.
The Macing Incident and Police Response
The situation reached a boiling point on the day of the macing incident. According to an affidavit, Anderson told police that the children were running near her property’s fence and yelling at her. She admitted to spraying liquid at them but claimed the children were 40 feet away and the spray didn’t reach them.
Police found brownish-orange liquid on the fence, grass, and the victims’ property. Morant and her daughters reported feeling discomfort and irritation in their noses and throats after the spray was used.
Efforts to Move and Fundraiser for New Home
In the wake of the incident, Morant is now trying to move her family out of the neighborhood. She has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for a new rental home.
“Since Day One, our next-door neighbor has targeted us with nonstop racial harassment, screaming slurs from her porch, telling us we don’t belong in the neighborhood, and poisoning the air with her hate,” Morant wrote on the fundraising page.
She continued, “Now she’s finally been arrested and charged with 3 counts of battery. But I know this isn’t over. She’ll be out soon, and I truly fear what she might do next. We can’t stay here. I don’t want to wait for this situation to escalate even further.”
Anderson’s Criminal History
Marion County jail records show that Ada Anderson was arrested in 2017 for stalking and again in 2019 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The 2019 arrest reportedly involved an incident with a previous neighbor, where Anderson allegedly pulled out a gun during a confrontation.
Anderson’s arraignment is scheduled for July 1, where she will face the charges related to the macing incident.