Have you guys been following this story? I think it is heartbreaking http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/20/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
The fact that the police told the neighbourhood watch volunteer not to follow the boy and he still followed him and killed him, and made comments like "they always get away it" when this boy hadnt even done anything wrong. So sad!
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That story is so sad and there are so many gaping holes in that guys story that I dont know where to begin. I cant believe he hasnt been arrested at least on suspicion, but I guess the evidence isnt there.
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I've been following it too, it's so sad and scary.
Self-defense should not include initiating a confrontation and then feeling threatened by someone who's half their size and only has a bag of skittles to defend themselves with.
In what world does it make sense that an adult stalker with a gun and twice someones size = scared of a boy with skittles who's running away from stalker and half the weight.
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Absolutely terrifying. What kind of world is this?
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I couldn't agree more. My heart breaks for his family, and is absolutely disgusted with the actions of the shooter. How is it self defense when you're chasing someone?!
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It's all over our news since it's local.
And I'm really interested to see what evidence will continue to turn up now that the Feds are involved. I can't imagine what that family is going through. The whole thing makes me so angry, and I really hope they nail this guy to the floor if everything points to his shooting as unnecessary. So far, it's certainly looking that way.
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I just dont understand why he couldnt just wait for the cops to show up. If he really believe the kid was about to do something illegal and he called the cops that should have been enough. I think he is just racist and thinks he is some type of vigilante justice for the community.
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@Mrsbells: I agree. News stories have said that he was notorious for calling the police about things like open garage doors. He's clearly paranoid, and racist.
These kinds of stories break my heart, and terrify me. I want to believe we live in a post-racial society but when stuff like this happens it scares me to bring our 1/2 African American children into the world.
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It's such a tragedy. The guy had recently been robbed by two black teenagers so he had a chip on his shoulder to begin with which didn't help things. But what I still don't understand is why he chose to actually attack him. I wonder if the kid taunted him at all or if he really did chase him down unprovoked. I'm hoping the neighbors who were watching can at least clear all that up because due to the local law in favor of the gunman it would help convict him.
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I don't know if he's racist (though he certainly sounds like he's got a chip on his shoulder) or what happened, and I think it's terrible that the kid died. That said I think there are way too many holes for me to ever say for sure the shooter was not acting in self defense once the actual confrontation happened, and I think the news story connects points without showing proof. (I also don't like the way they portray the things he said, inserting "he's black" without reminding the audience that it was an answer to the operator's question, not something he just said on his own, but that's beside the point.) I hope, though, that some new evidence will surface.
Either way I do think this guy should NOT be in a neighborhood watch if he can't follow directions...
I know this post sounds like I'm defending him, but I'm not. I'm just saying it sounds like we need more information. If he's as guilty as that lawyer says I hope he goes to prison for the rest of his life. I just happen to know of a similar situation that ruined someone's life..and the shooter really was (of course only decided after a very long investigation!) acting in self defense.
ETA I didn't see Daniellemybelle's post. Ok so yes he sounds like a total racist, but still, I think we need more info. I sort of wish that lady would have at least looked from a distance, though I understand why she didn't...
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ABC tracked down who the last phone call was with
http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-death-friend-phone-teen-death-recounts/story?id=15959017
From her account it sounds like the boy knew he was being followed and was trying to get away from the guy following him. Her account agrees with the shooters own account on the 911 calls where he said he was following the boy. The guy had a gun and stalked the victim.The police also should be fired for their handling.
Trayvon was taken to the morgue and listed as John Doe even though the police had his cell phone with him. It took his dad reporting him missing and calling 911 for them to even bother to try to contact the family. A full day later. They didn't bother to try to contact the family of a minor who had just been killed. It's unbelievable the lack of any empathy both the killer and the police felt towards the boy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/opinion/blow-the-curious-case-of-trayvon-martin.html -
I'm so sad about this story and haven't been able to listen to the 911 calls because I'm afraid I'll be too angry.
Did you guys read that Zimmermann had called the 46 times since January 1 to report suspicious people, break-ins, his neighbor's garage door left open? There is something wrong with this guy. I can't believe he wasn't arrested and I agree with @Maysprout: something needs to be done about the police officers involved in this case for the way they handled this.
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I'm not going to read the links right now (but will check them out later!) but that's pretty sad. I still think it hinges on what transpired during the confrontation, as far as whether he should be charged for the shooting or not.
I mean, he admits on the 911 tape that he initially followed the boy, but at least on the article OP posted there's no telling for sure whether he stopped or not, and how the confrontation came to be. He only said yes I was following him, and when the operator said stop, he said ok, but who knows what he actually did and how the kid reacted? I think it seems likely that he at least followed from a distance even after being told not to, but I've heard crazier (more illogical) stories IRL...
The whole situation with this shooter is sketchy though, because as far as what I know about neighborhood watches (from working in a housing complex) , when they go out and walk around, they usually don't go just by themselves. They have t-shirts, vests, etc, and are readily identifiable...not people you'd run from. What kind of watch was this that a kid would feel threatened?
As far as the police goes, I don't know what their policies are regarding identifying bodies, whether they do that on the spot or there are procedures as far as going into someone's phone, etc, so I can't really say if they should be fired or not.
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@googly-eyes: He wasn't a member of a registered Neighborhood Watch program.
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Ok that makes sense! The article said "a neighborhood watch volunteer," and I couldn't help but think, "what kind of neighborhood watch is that?!"
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I am really disturbed by reports that Zimmerman is allowed to keep his gun for the time being. Even a police officer involved in a shooting has to surrender their weapon during the investigation. I don't understand how you could shoot an unarmed person, and be allowed to walk around the streets with your gun.
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Breaks my heart. This story is so disturbing.
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