George Zimmerman has told police that Trayvon Martin decked him with a punch then jumped on top of the neighborhood watch volunteer and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times, the Orlando Sentinel reports, quoting unidentified police sources.
Police say Zimmerman claims he shot and killed the 17-year-old boy in the chest in self-defense.The newspaper, quoting the authorities, says much of his account has been corroborated by witnesses. It says Zimmerman described the incident to police the night it occurred and in later meetings, and has re-enacted it for officers.
The confrontation and shooting on Feb. 26 occurred after Zimmerman had called police to report a black teenager walking through the gated community, acting strangely.
Trayvon’s family says the teen, talking with his girlfriend on a cellphone, was walking back to the house where was staying while carrying a packet of Skittles and an iced tea.
In Zimmerman’s version of events, he had been following Trayvon, lost sight of him and was walking back to his SUV when the teen approached him from behind, the Sentinelreports.
The two exchanged words, according to his account, then Trayvon punched him in the nose, sending him to the ground.
According to this account, as reported by the Sentinel, Trayvon then jumped on top of Zimmerman and began slamming his head against the sidewalk.
Zimmerman also insisted to police that he is the person heard shouting for help on the tape of a 911 call by a neighbor. Trayvon’s family says it is the teen who is crying for help.
A spokesman for the Martin family, meanwhile, says that Trayvon had recently been suspended from Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag.
“We maintain that regardless of the specific reason for the suspension, it’s got nothing to do with the events that unfolded on Feb. 26,” the spokesman, Ryan Julison says, the Associated Press reports.
“The only comment I have to say right now is that they killed my son and now they are trying to kill his reputation,” Trayvon’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, tells reporters today.
Also today, the state Department of Juvenile Justice confirms that Trayvon did not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by the Associated Press.
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