五洲震荡，洪水滔滔

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Shooting of Trayvon Martin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin

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The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman took place on the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States. Martin was an unarmed 17-year-old African American. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old multi-racial Hispanic American,[Note 1] was the appointed neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting took place.[3][4][5]

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While in his vehicle on a personal errand, Zimmerman noticed Martin walking inside the community. Zimmerman called the Sanford Police Department to report Martin's behavior as suspicious, stating "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about" and "looking at all the houses".[6][7] According to a police report, "there is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter".[8][9][10] While still on the phone with the police dispatcher, Zimmerman left his vehicle. After the phone call concluded, there was a violent encounter between Martin and Zimmerman. The encounter ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin once in the chest at close range.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

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When police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman told them that Martin had attacked him and that he had shot Martin in self-defense.[3] Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and from two vertical lacerations on the back of his head. EMTs treated Zimmerman at the scene, after which he was taken to the Sanford Police Department. Zimmerman was detained and questioned for approximately five hours.[17][18][19] He was then released without being charged; at the time, police said they found no evidence to contradict Zimmerman's claim of self-defense.[18][20][21]

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The circumstances of Martin's death, the initial decision not to charge Zimmerman, and questions about Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law received national and international attention. Allegations of racist motivation for both the shooting and police conduct, along with intense media reporting that was sometimes inaccurate, contributed to public demands for Zimmerman's arrest.[22][23][24][25] On March 22, 2012, a Special Prosecutor was appointed to take over the investigation.[26] On April 11, 2012, the Special Prosecutor filed a charge of murder in the second degree against Zimmerman, who then turned himself in and was placed in custody.[27][28] The prosecution's account of what they allege happened on the night of the shooting is largely contained in the Affidavit of Probable Cause.[29] Zimmerman pleaded not guilty to the charge and is out on a $1 million bond while awaiting the results of the trial.

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In February 2013, Judge Debra S. Nelson set Zimmerman's jury selection to begin on June 10, with 500 potential jurors being summoned.[30] Zimmerman had requested a "stand your ground" hearing, but in March 2013, his defense elected to bypass the hearing so that his case would be tried before a jury.[31]

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Parties involved in the case

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Trayvon Martin

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Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was the son of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, who were divorced in 1999. He was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School and lived with his mother and older brother in Miami Gardens, Florida.[32][33][34]

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On the day Martin was fatally shot, he and his father were visiting his father's fiancée and her son at her townhome in The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, a multi-ethnic gated community, where the shooting occurred.[35][36] Martin had visited his father's fiancée at Twin Lakes several times.[37][38]