Black teen shot and killed in gated community

[Baltimatt]

Family wants answers; white community watch captain still free.

Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager, was shot and killed in a gated community in Florida late last month by a white neighborhood watch captain, according to police. But the watch captain, George Zimmerman — a 26-year-old college student who has admitted to police that he shot the young man — still walks free. And Martin's family is pleading for answers and demanding justice.

...

Chief Bill Lee of the Sanford Police Department on Thursday evening said the account given by Martin’s family and attorney is correct, that Zimmerman saw the young man walking home from the store. He said that Zimmerman did indeed call 911 and report a suspicious person, and that he was told not to follow him.

The boy was on foot; the man in a car. Although instructed by the police dispatcher not to follow, he did, and now Trayvon is dead.

[pepper]

Family wants answers; white community watch captain still free.



The boy was on foot; the man in a car. Although instructed by the police dispatcher not to follow, he did, and now Trayvon is dead.

Hi Matt

Are you opposed to legal carry? I agree that this appears to be an example of CC gone bad...

[Brohan]

Matt has a license to carry the race card.

[Mom49of4]

Matt has a license to carry the race card.

That is rather harsh.

[Baltimatt]

Pepper--

No, I am not, although I am not an advocate of it and personally do not care for guns.

But this case is a tragedy that didn't have to happen if the man had listened to police. Unless there is something we don't know, it sounds like he committed a crime.

[Baltimatt]

Matt has a license to carry the race card.

No more the race card than in this about a white boy allegedly set on fire by two black youth.

That is rather harsh.

Thank you, Mom.

[Balt Observer]

Family wants answers; white community watch captain still free.

The boy was on foot; the man in a car. Although instructed by the police dispatcher not to follow, he did, and now Trayvon is dead.

What's missing in the account is what transpired after the teenager noticed he was being followed and a physical confrontation ensued. If the guy was being beaten up and was in fear of his life, lethal force would've been justified.

[pepper]

Pepper--

No, I am not, although I am not an advocate of it and personally do not care for guns.

But this case is a tragedy that didn't have to happen if the man had listened to police. Unless there is something we don't know, it sounds like he committed a crime.

Matt, I'd love to take you to the range. I've been with a few folks that never considered legal guns for fun. But I tell you, to the last, they enjoyed it. You should see the face of a newbie thats just emptied an MP-5 or an old school Thompson machine gun...

That reaction is so very different from the assumptions..the first thing that strikes new shooters is that right off White Marsh Blvd theres a place that has 20-30 people all with guns. No killing.

[Baltimatt]

What's missing in the account is what transpired after the teenager noticed he was being followed and a physical confrontation ensued. If the guy was being beaten up and was in fear of his life, lethal force would've been justified.

Yes, we don't know what really happened and are only hearing one side of the story, but if the man had listened to police, this wouldn't have happened. Again, he was in a car, the boy on foot.

[Baltimatt]

Pepper--

Thanks for the offer. I get chances to shoot when I go up to Vermont. They have some pretty hefty firepower at my brother's house, but it just doesn't interest me.

[Gopher]

From the Washington Post:

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.

Appears to be only two witnesses to the events that transpired that night and one of them is unfortunately dead.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...SzR_story.html

[dialtone]

What's missing in the account is what transpired after the teenager noticed he was being followed and a physical confrontation ensued. If the guy was being beaten up and was in fear of his life, lethal force would've been justified.

Again I say, this is problematic as a reason to kill.

He was in a car and afraid of an unarmed kid walking?? Maybe there wasn't a confrontation, but only one is able to tell their side. . . .

[Balt Observer]

He saw the teen and called police. Two minutes later, 17-year-old Trayvon was on the ground, dying from a single gunshot wound. Police found Zimmerman standing nearby, a gun in his waistband and blood seeping from injuries to his nose and the back of his head.

That call then ended and police dispatched an officer. Before the officer arrived, the department received several other 911 calls from people complaining about two men fighting and a gunshot.

Both sides agree that Trayvon and Zimmerman scuffled before the shooting, and there is evidence to corroborate Zimmerman's self defense claims, the chief said.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,1380794.story

It does appear that a confrontation occurred and Zimmerman was in the midst of a fight. If he was in fear of his life, the shooting could be ruled as justified.

He should have kept his distance, especially after the police told him to back off. On the other hand, the teenager should not have been fighting with the man.

[dialtone]

It does appear that a confrontation occurred and Zimmerman was in the midst of a fight. If he was in fear of his life, the shooting could be ruled as justified.

He should have kept his distance, especially after the police told him to back off. On the other hand, the teenager should not have been fighting with the man.

Even if he was fighting him, do we know who intitiated it? Did he pull him from the car to fight? This is a suspicious circumstance.

[crabsnbeer]

Again I say, this is problematic as a reason to kill.

He was in a car and afraid of an unarmed kid walking?? Maybe there wasn't a confrontation, but only one is able to tell their side. . . .

we do not know what happened but it would be legal for zimmerman to get out of his can and ask the young man what he was doing.

[Balt Observer]

Even if he was fighting him, do we know who intitiated it? Did he pull him from the car to fight? This is a suspicious circumstance.

The question that matters in the issue of self defense is, was Zimmerman legitimately in fear of his life? If that answer is yes, then his lethal force would be considered justified. At the least, it looks like he was in a fight and did take some damage.

[dialtone]

we do not know what happened but it would be legal for zimmerman to get out of his can and ask the young man what he was doing.

Then why call the police? The kid is dead, lesson learned, situation under control, I guess.

[Cetshwayo]

I don't know what the heck happened but one thing's for sure. At least a few lawyers are going to make some money off this case and when you get right down to it, isn't that the reason why our system works the way it does, to keep the parasites fed?

[dialtone]

The question that matters in the issue of self defense is, was Zimmerman legitimately in fear of his life? If that answer is yes, then his lethal force would be considered justified. At the least, it looks like he was in a fight and did take some damage.

So one can have a weapon,start a fight, loose, then kill the opponent and say they were in fear for their life. That could really catch on. You can't prove or disprove fear. In this case still if he was afraid, give the police a minute and follow at a safe distance.... maybe

[dialtone]

I don't know what the heck happened but one thing's for sure. At least a few lawyers are going to make some money off this case and when you get right down to it, isn't that the reason why our system works the way it does, to keep the parasites fed?

It looks like they will be making a few bucks.