Sybrina Fulton

Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Martin had gone with his father on a visit to his father's fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, Martin was walking back alone to the fiancee's house after purchasing some items at a convenience store. The neighborhood had suffered several robberies that year. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. The police advised Zimmerman to remain in his car until law enforcement arrived, but Zimmerman disobeyed those orders and followed Martin on foot. Moments later, an altercation between the two individuals took place and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest. Zimmerman claimed to have been injured in the confrontation and was not charged at the time. The police said there was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense, and that Florida's stand your ground law prohibited law-enforcement officials from arresting or charging him. After national media focused on the tragedy, Zimmerman was eventually charged and tried in Martin's death. A jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013. Martin was born in Miami, Florida, and attended both Norland Middle School and Highland Oaks Middle School, in north Miami-Dade County, Florida. He attended Miami Carol City High School in Miami Gardens for his freshman and sophomore years. At the time of the shooting, Martin was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School in north Miami-Dade.