Ada Anderson was arrested after police say she pepper-sprayed her neighbor, April Morant, and her two daughters, ages 3 and 6.
Morant said her children were pepper-sprayed over their use of bubbles.
“Bubbles. Literally. The bubbles put her [Anderson] in a whole other arena, whatever was going on with her mind,” Morant said.
Morant said her daughters were playing with bubbles in their yard “well away” from the fence that separates their properties when Anderson allegedly yelled racial slurs and leaned over the fence holding something.
“What went through my head is I thought she had a gun, so I literally kind of jumped, like it startled me … I didn’t know what was in her hand … and then she sprayed it,” Morant said.
According to a police report, Anderson sprayed pepper spray at Morant and her daughters.
Morant said her daughters ran inside to get bottles of water to help extinguish the burning sensation.
Morant said she’s had problems with Anderson ever since she moved into the neighborhood with her family in November. But she said the issues have been getting worse.
“I feel like she’s escalating,” Morant said.
Morant said on multiple occasions that Anderson has hurled insults and racial slurs at them.
“Since day one. I have recordings of her,” Morant said.
Those videos reportedly show Anderson saying things like “you’re not welcome in this neighborhood” and hurling racial slurs at the family.
For the pepper spray incident, Anderson is now facing battery charges on several counts.
Morant was hoping Anderson would also be charged with a hate crime.
“Just battery? But nothing on the kids, or maybe a hate crime because you were saying all this stuff while you were spraying this stuff,” she said.
Anderson did not respond to WESH’s request for comment. According to jail records, she has been released on bond.
Morant is hoping to get a restraining order against Anderson and is also trying to raise money to move.
“For you to do the bear spray stuff, like I feel like I don’t know what you have in that house,” Morant said. “I don’t know. I don’t want to be by her.”
