Trayvon Martin, 17, shot and killed by Neighborhood Watchman

[Livewire]

Kinda surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet.

Answers sought in teen's death after encounter with neighborhood watch leader in Fla. suburb

By Associated Press,

ORLANDO, Fla. — The family of a Florida teen who was fatally shot after an encounter with a neighborhood watch leader on Thursday asked the police department investigating the death to release 911 tapes that may help explain how the young man died.

Family members said 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, of Miami, was visiting his father and soon-to-be stepmother last month at their home in a gated community in the Orlando suburb of Sanford. He had gone to a convenience store to buy some Skittles candy and was returning home when he was confronted by an armed man who was head of the local neighborhood watch, family member said.

The man hasn't been charged. His name was redacted along with Martin's name in an initial police report but he was identified as 28-year-old George Zimmerman in a police report released Thursday.

The report said Zimmerman initially called police to report a suspicious person in the neighborhood and minutes later 911 dispatchers received several calls of shots being fired in the neighborhood. Zimmerman told police officers that he had shot Martin and officers found a semiautomatic handgun on him. The report said that Zimmerman's back was wet and he was covered in grass as if he had been on the ground. He was bleeding from his nose and the back of the head, the report said.

A police officer said he overheard Zimmerman say, "I was yelling for someone to help me but no one would help me" while he was being treated by paramedics.

Zimmerman has been interviewed three times and is cooperating. He is claiming self-defense, even though he was following Martin, said Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee.

"There is some physical evidence and some testimony that would corroborate some of that story," Lee said.

The 911 tapes haven't been released because it has critical information and detectives don't want it to influence the testimony of prospective witnesses, the police chief said.

Nobody answered the phone at Zimmerman's house despite attempts by The Associated Press to reach him Thursday.

Martin's father, Tracy, said Thursday that family members were upset that no arrest had been made. He described the neighborhood as mixed race but his attorneys said they believed Trayvon Martin was being profiled at the time of the encounter because he was a young black man. Zimmerman is white. The attorneys also questioned why a neighborhood watch leader would carry a gun.

"He was stereotyped for some reason," attorney Ben Crump said of the victim. "Why was Trayvon suspicious? There are hundreds of children in that community.

The police chief said residents upset by the lack of an arrest so far should wait until the investigation is completed, as soon as next week. The State Attorney's Office will then decide whether to present it to a grand jury.

"I understand the emotions and the response from the community ... based on the limited information they have," Lee said. "We just hope they would allow us the time to conduct a thorough and fair investigation."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Here's an article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...watch-leader/2012/03/08/gIQAPkJSzR_story.html

Still sort of vague on the details, but it appears to be a racially motivated crime judging from the shooter following & stalking the victim.

Thoughts?

 

[Captain Fabio]

First off:

Unarmed Black Teen shot

That annoys me. What has it got to do with him being black? Why does this HAVE to be pointed out?

"He had gone to a convenience store to buy some Skittles candy and was returning home when he was confronted by an armed man who was head of the local neighborhood watch, family member said."

This just makes me raise an eyebrow. I highly doubt this kid was completely innocent if he was confronted by the watch guide.

I hate stories that just take a side instantly and stick to it. Clearly two sides here...​

​

 

[Timbjerr]

Come on guys, it's common knowledge that every black teenage boy walking out of convenience store is plotting to rape, murder, and/or sell drugs to some innocent suburban white teenage girl. We're lucky to have vigilantes like Zimmerman in the world that take the law into their own hand because the police are so obviously inept at their job...never mind the fact that the whole murder thing is illegal. >_>

 

[Esper]

First off:

Unarmed Black Teen shot

That annoys me. What has it got to do with him being black? Why does this HAVE to be pointed out?

"He had gone to a convenience store to buy some Skittles candy and was returning home when he was confronted by an armed man who was head of the local neighborhood watch, family member said."

This just makes me raise an eyebrow. I highly doubt this kid was completely innocent if he was confronted by the watch guide.

I hate stories that just take a side instantly and stick to it. Clearly two sides here...​

They released the audio tapes of the emergency call the shooter made before he shot the kid and in it he was told by the dispatcher to stop following him. The man, Zimmerman, was known to have bad dealings with the police on a few occasions, plus he was carrying a gun and following someone. That's very suspicious.

 

[Livewire]

Will I think you're missing the fact that the shooter stalked and followed the teen fīrst. That's premeditation. Also, it's obvious that there was a racial element to the shooting, listen to the 911 tapes.

 

[jpp8]

First off:

Unarmed Black Teen shot

That annoys me. What has it got to do with him being black? Why does this HAVE to be pointed out?

"He had gone to a convenience store to buy some Skittles candy and was returning home when he was confronted by an armed man who was head of the local neighborhood watch, family member said."

This just makes me raise an eyebrow. I highly doubt this kid was completely innocent if he was confronted by the watch guide.

I hate stories that just take a side instantly and stick to it. Clearly two sides here...​

​

Why does it have to be pointed out that Treyvon Martin was black? Because it's seemingly the only reason why he would be considered suspicious in the first place. This kind of thing wouldn't happen to a white kid. Trayvon was an A/B student who just made the unfortunate choice of being black and walking out in the middle of the night to buy skittles and iced tea. He wasn't armed. He didn't have any sort of criminal record. He just happened to be black and that was enough for Zimmerman.

Let's review what happened: George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, followed Trayvon suspecting him to be a threat, called the police and disregarded their instructions to not confront Trayvon saying that "they always get away", got out of his car and confronted Trayvon, now screaming and pleading for his life, and shot Trayvon in the chest "in self defense" despite his build being 100 pounds over Trayvon's. Police didn't question this self-defense testimony despite the conflicting evidence, corrected witnesses as to who cried for help, and even "blew off" some witnesses, because Zimmerman isn't black.

Also a story concerning the Trayvon's cell phone sheds much light on this case: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/trayvon...rence-phone-logs-completely-connect-the-dots/
Long story short, he spent all day calling his friends back like most normal teenagers. There is no way that he was up to no good.

That is why it is so important to remember Trayvon's skin color. It is the only reason he is deemed suspect and a neighborhood threat in the first place.

 

[Bela]

I hate stories that just take a side instantly and stick to it. Clearly two sides here...

I hate this idea of 'two sides to every story.' There is not always two sides to every issue.

This worship of "calling it even" is poisonous and in this situation is outrageous to suggest.

George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin. This is not a justified homicide--this child posed no threat to Zimmerman. The evidence is overwhelmingly in Martin's favor--the calls to 911, the behavior of Zimmerman, the eyewitness accounts, the boy who lay lifeless on the ground--this case is as open and shut as there can be. It is an injustice that Zimmerman hasn't been arrested and that this investigation is being mishandled.

 

[Hikamaru]

I am so appalled by this story, when someone murders a black person I always suspect one thing - Racism.

My thoughts go out to the family of the dead guy.

@Bela I do think the killer was racist.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I find it kind of interesting that Zimmerman was Hispanic and not Caucasian

 

[Bela]

@Hikari10 I also think the killer was racist; audio of a 911 call Zimmerman himself made suggests this as well.

 

[ShinyUmbreon189]

This is exactly why mankind has ruined this world. This world revolves around judgement, racism, religion, politics, and all that bs.

 

[SiphonophoreHouse]

I just saw the news on TV. The shooter was AISIAN.

 

[psyanic]

The shooter was AISIAN.

No, he was half Hispanic...

But the police investigation made this case very hard to deal with. When the neighborhood called 911, the police didn't send in a homicide detective, despite a dead kid being on the sidewalk. That really messed with the evidence gathering. I won't be surprised if they let him off the hook. Florida messed up Casey Anthony, so they'll probably do the same here

 

[Zet]

Here's the 911 call... you can hear him begging for his life.

[hd]KmnqKotpSD0[/hd]

And Newt Gringich(or whatever his name is) said Obama's comment about what happened Appalling :/

It's sad that this guy got away because of the "stand your ground" law.

 

[Rogue planet]

This is pretty much the Stephen Lawrence case in America.
All that remains to be seen is whether this will be taken further and something will actually be done about this

 

[Esper]

I find it kind of interesting that Zimmerman was Hispanic and not Caucasian

Lots of Hispanic people have innate biases against black people, just like white people, Asian people, and even some black people.

 

[twocows]

It sucks, but based on the info I've seen on this kid, he was your typical thuggish inner-city type guy. Hell, look up his Facebook profile; that should give you a pretty good idea of the kind of person he was. The NW guy was stupid for not listening to 911, but once he put himself into that situation, I can understand why he'd feel threatened by such a person, especially if he did something like reach for his pockets or something.

Anyway, as much as I don't think he should have killed him, it's not like this guy just went out guns a-blazing and mowed down every black person that came into sight, like some people seem to be trying to play it as. And don't forget: innocent until proven guilty. As much as people love to tar and feather whatever the big media villain is on any given day, remember that he will get his day in court and doesn't need to be prosecuted by the public.

Or are they not pressing charges? If so, I misunderstood, and that's dumb.

 

[Livewire]

It sucks, but based on the info I've seen on this kid, he was your typical thuggish inner-city type guy. Hell, look up his Facebook profile; that should give you a pretty good idea of the kind of person he was.

If you have that info, I'd share it. Otherwise, this looks to me like some ignorant stereotype.

 

[twocows]

If you have that info, I'd share it. Otherwise, this looks to me like some ignorant stereotype.

Look up his Facebook profile and look at the sort of pictures and comments he uploaded and posted, respectively.

Edit: Also, why is this even news? People are shot all the time. The only reason this is news is because the media wants to make this into a racial issue when it should be an issue for the courts.

 

[jpp8]

They are indeed not pressing charges, citing Florida's "Stand Your Ground" laws which allow lethal force in cases of self-defense.

Also THIS is Trayvon Slimm Martin's Facebook page. Not this, the first result on Google. ESPECIALLY since this Trayvon Martin has been adding Facebook friends in March; Trayvon Martin died late February.