George Zimmerman on Fox News
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, George Zimmerman discussed fatally shooting an unarmed 17-year-old in a controversial Florida confrontation earlier this year. Zimmerman said he didn’t regret what led to Trayvon Martin’s death.
“I feel like it was all God’s plan, and for me to second-guess it or to judge it,” he said.” However, at the end of the interview, he said he didn’t understand Hannity’s question. “I do wish that there was something, anything that I could have done that wouldn’t have put me in the position where I had to take his life.”
Zimmerman also had a message for Martin’s parents: “I’m sorry… I am sorry that they buried their child. I can’t imagine what it must feel like. And I pray for them daily.”
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin in Sanford, Florida on February 26. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was concerned about previous crimes in the community when he spotted Martin walking home from a convenience store. While Zimmerman initially claimed he killed the hoodie-wearing teen in self-defense, prosecutors allege Zimmerman followed and confronted him. He was charged with murder 44 days after the shooting, after national outrage and debate erupted.
During the interview with Hannity, Zimmerman claimed that he had stopped following Martin. Even though he told a 911 dispatcher that he was following the unarmed teen—and the dispatcher told him to stop—he said, “I hadn’t given them a correct address. I was going to give them the actual address. I meant that I was going in the same direction as him. I didn’t mean that I was actually pursuing him.”
Zimmerman, who is free on $1 million bond, insisted that he stopped observing Martin, but that when he got out of his car, the teen was present. “He asked me what my problem was,” Zimmerman said. He also described the 17-year-old’s body language as “confrontational.” And when he reached for his cellphone, Zimmerman said that Martin punched him and broke his nose.
Furthermore, Zimmerman said that when he and Martin were grappling with each other, the teen threatened, “You’re gonna die tonight.” Zimmerman said he reached for his gun because he thought Martin was going to get it. “I would have not done anything differently,” Zimmerman said. “I’m not a racist. I’m not a murderer.”
Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy, reacted to the interview in a statement to the Associated Press “We must worship a different god,” he said. “There is no way that my god wanted George Zimmerman to murder my teenage son.” Here’s the full interview:
