Updated on
Summary Shooter of black teen tells police he fired fatal shot after slamming victims head into wall.
Lawyers for George Zimmerman, who is charged with second degree murder and faces life in prison in the racially-charged case, released his statements to police, unveiling his first, full account of the February 26 shooting.The 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer told police he had been tracking 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, whom he had viewed as suspicious, and shot and killed the teenager after being assaulted by him.In his statement, as well as in audio and video interviews with investigators, Zimmerman says he had broken off his pursuit of Martin and was returning to his car when Martin emerged from the darkness and said, You got a problem?I said, No. The suspect said, You do now, and then while Zimmerman fumbled for his cell phone to call police, he says Martin punched him in the face.I fell backward onto my back. The suspect got on top of me. I yelled, Help several times. The suspect told me to shut the fuck up.As I tried to sit up right, the suspect grabbed my head and slammed it into the concrete sidewalk several times... My head felt like it was going to explode, Zimmerman recalled.The 28-year-old goes on to say that he tried to slide out from under Martin while still screaming for help. He said Martin tried to smother his mouth and nose and reached for Zimmermans gun and said: Your gonna (sic) die tonight mother fucker.Claiming he feared for his life, Zimmerman said he unholstered his gun and fired one shot into his torso.You got me, Martin said as he fell back.Zimmerman is accused of shooting Martin as he headed home from a run to a convenience store in Sanford, Florida. The racially-charged case -- the victim was black, the shooter half-white, half-Hispanic -- caused an uproar across the United States and set off a wave of protests.The case caused consternation, mainly over authorities initial reluctance to press charges against Zimmerman, who insists that he acted within his rights in self-defense under Floridas controversial stand-your-ground law.Zimmerman was eventually arrested on April 11 and charged with second-degree murder.Sanford police chief Bill Lee was fired on Wednesday. A statement said Lee, who took a leave of absence in March, had lost the trust and respect of the elected officials and the confidence of the entire community.
