The shooting of Trayvon Martin took place on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a man of mixed ethnicity (Latino and white American). Martin, who was unarmed, had been walking to the home of his father's girlfriend from a convenience store when Zimmerman followed him after calling the Sanford Police Department, saying he witnessed what he described as "suspicious" behavior. Soon afterward, he fatally shot Martin.
Zimmerman described the shooting to the police who arrived on the scene as self-defense. The responding officers did not arrest Zimmerman, saying on March 12 that they did not find evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense. Both Martin and Zimmerman made phone calls during the incident, some of which were recorded.The circumstances around Martin's death received national and international attention, particularly regarding Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law and allegations of racial motivations and police misconduct, triggering multiple investigations and public demands for Zimmerman's arrest. Many people, from civil rights leaders to public officials -- including Reverend Al Sharpton, President Barack Obama civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi -- have made public comments or released statements about the shooting.