Trayvon “Trey” Martin was visiting his father in a Orlando suburb (Sanford, Florida) when he decided to go a nearby convenience store to buy his younger brother a pack of candy.
Martin leaving the store caught the attention of a white neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, 26. Zimmerman thought Martin appeared suspicious and called 911. Local police said they would handle it from there.
But Zimmerman, armed with a 9mm hand gun, disobeyed police and elected to trail the 17-year-old Martin in his car.
Zimmerman told police that at some point the unarmed Martin noticed he was being followed and asked “what’s your problem.” Shortly after some kind of altercation occurred and neighbors said they heard gunfire.
When police arrived they found Martin dead with a pack of Skittles in his pocket about 70 feet from his father’s home.
Zimmerman says he acted in self-defense. He had a legal permit to carry the handgun used that night. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. told the Huffington Post “For some reason he (Zimmerman) felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared, seemed suspicious to him.” I wonder why.
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