Ocala, FL – On May 30, deputies arrested 81-year-old Ada Anderson after she allegedly sprayed bear mace at her neighbor and the neighbor’s two daughters, ages 3 and 6, while they played with bubble toys in their driveway on Pine Court Drive.
According to the arrest report, Anderson also yelled racial slurs at the family during the incident, which occurred as she stood at the fence separating their properties. The neighbor provided phone video evidence showing Anderson holding what appeared to be bear mace on her porch, and additional footage from earlier that day captured Anderson using a racial slur while referencing the neighborhood.
Deputies observed evidence of the mace on the fence and noted that Anderson’s porch, where she admitted to spraying the chemical, is approximately 40 feet from the fence line. Anderson claimed the neighbor and her children provoked her by running along the fence and yelling, prompting her to act.
This marks Anderson’s second arrest for neighbor-related harassment, following a 2019 incident where she was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and stalking. Bear mace, a chemical irritant designed to repel bears, can be toxic to humans if ingested, according to authorities. Nothing further at this time.
