Killing of Trayvon Martin
On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man who self-identifies as Hispanic, was a neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was visiting relatives at the time of the shooting. Zimmerman became suspicious of Martin and called police; Zimmerman was injured during a physical altercation between the two and shot Martin with a pistol he was licensed to carry. In a widely reported trial, Zimmerman was charged with murder of the second degree for Martin's death, but acquitted by the jury after claiming self-defense. The incident was reviewed by the Department of Justice for potential civil rights violations, but no additional charges were filed. Parties involved Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin was the son of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, who were divorced in 1999. He was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School and lived with his mother and older brother in Miami Gardens, Florida. On the day he was fatally shot, he and his father were visiting his father's fiancée and her son at her town home in Sanford, Florida. She lived in The Retreat at Twin