The shooting of Trayvon Martin took place on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon Martin was an unarmed,[1] 17-year-old African American male who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old community watch coordinator. Martin was walking from a convenience store to the home of his father's fiancée when Zimmerman, while contacting the Sanford Police Department to report Martin's allegedly suspicious behavior, began following Martin.[2][3][4] Soon afterward, they engaged in a confrontation that ended with George Zimmerman fatally shooting Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman told police who arrived on the scene that the shooting was self-defense.[5][6] Responding officers handcuffed Zimmerman and took him into custody but they did not formally arrest him, saying they did not find evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense.[7] The ...
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