Shawn Vincent, an aide to defense attorney Mark O’Mara, told NBC News on Sunday that the Keltec 9mm handgun Zimmerman used to shoot and kill Martin on Feb. 26, 2012 will be returned, but said he did not think authorities have released the weapon yet. NEW YORK After his acquittal on murder charges for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman may go to law school to help people wrongly accused of crimes like himself, close friends told Reuters on Sunday. Zimmerman’s weapon was turned over to police on the night of the shooting and later entered into evidence in Zimmerman’s trial. He dismissed criticism of the prosecution, the six female jurors and calls by civil rights groups for a federal civil rights investigation. George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation.
– Now that George Zimmerman has been acquitted, he can have back the pistol he used to kill Trayvon Martin—and he needs it "even more" than before, his lawyer tells ABC. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara says his client has no regrets about carrying a gun the night he killed the unarmed teenager, and he plans to go armed again because "there's even more reason now, isn't there? There are a lot of people out there who really hate him, even though they shouldn't." Zimmerman might not be able to get a concealed carry permit, but he will be able to keep his gun unless he is convicted of a federal felony, a University of Florida law professor tells NBC. Zimmerman faces a potential federal prosecution as well as possible civil lawsuits, though O'Mara says he would "welcome" the latter. The lawyer says Zimmerman might now move out of Florida—though he will probably struggle to find work anywhere in the country. "I don't think he can work. I don't think anyone can hire him," he says of Zimmerman, who had worked as an insurance investigator. "George is a pariah." Reuters adds that O'Mara, along with some of Zimmerman's friends, say Zimmerman is now interested in attending law school in order to "help other people like me."