This Day in History: <br />Trayvon Martin <br />Is Shot and Killed February 26, 2012 Walking home from a convenient <br />store in Sanford, FL, 17-year-old Martin was <br />shot and killed by 28-year-old neighborhood <br />watch volunteer George Zimmerman. After reporting Martin as <br />suspicious, Zimmerman had <br />followed the unarmed teenager, <br />despite police dispatch advice to stop. After the shooting, Zimmerman, <br />who claimed to have acted in self-<br />defense during a physical altercation, <br />was questioned but not arrested by arriving police. Martin had no criminal record and <br />his murder sparked nationwide <br />protests, prompting President Barack <br />Obama to say, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Zimmerman was eventually <br />charged with second-degree <br />murder by a special prosecutor <br />appointed by Florida’s governor. Following a month-long trial, <br />a jury of six women found <br />Zimmerman not guilty.
