Many Questions in Shooting of Trayvon Martin
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The fatal shooting of a black teenager by a neighborhood watch captain who then went free has led to nationwide protests calling for the shooters arrest. Trayvon Martins parents, civil rights leaders and social media users alike are portraying the case as racially motivated, saying the shooter would have been arrested had he been black and the victim white.
The shooter, George Zimmerman, told police he acted in self-defense after Martin pursued and attacked him.
The case has raised a multitude of questions, some of which remain unanswered. Here are some of the facts of the case that have been established.
Q: What happened?
A: Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed Feb. 26 during a confrontation with George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated community of townhomes in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman was patrolling the neighborhood when he spotted Martin, who was unarmed and walking to the home of his fathers fiancee. He was returning from a trip to the convenience store with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. It was raining, and Martin was walking with the hood of his sweat shirt pulled over his head. He talked to his girlfriend on a cellphone moments before the shooting.
Q: What is George Zimmermans side of the story?
A: George Zimmerman has not spoken publicly. He told police that he spotted Martin as he was patrolling his neighborhood and called 911 to report a suspicious person.
“This guy looks like he is up to no good. He is on drugs or something,” Zimmerman told the dispatcher from his sport utility vehicle. He added that the teen had his hand in his waistband and was walking around looking at homes.
“These a——-. They always get away,” Zimmerman said on a 911 call.
A neighbor said there had been several break-ins in the community in the past year, including one in which burglars took a TV and laptops.
A dispatcher told Zimmerman to stay in his sport utility vehicle and that an officer would be there momentarily. Zimmerman, for unknown reasons, got out.
Zimmerman told police he lost sight of the teenager and was walking back to his sport utility vehicle when he was attacked. He and Martin fought, according to witnesses. Zimmerman said Martin punched him in the nose and slammed his head against the ground.
At some point, Zimmerman pulled a gun and shot Martin. Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense.
Police said Zimmerman was bleeding from his nose and the back of his head. He told police he had yelled out for help before he shot Martin.