George Zimmerman To Martin Family: "I'm Sorry"
SANFORD (CBS4/AP) — George Zimmerman is speaking out publicly for the first time since he shot and killed Miami teen Trayvon Martin in February.
Zimmerman at down with Fox News' Sean Hannity in a pre-taped interview which aired Wednesday
The teenager's father, Tracy Martin, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he rejected a comment Zimmerman made about the events of that night being part of "God's plan."
"We must worship a different God. There is no way that my God wanted George Zimmerman to murder my teenage son," Tracy Martin said.
Zimmerman, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 death of the 17-year-old Martin, who was unarmed when he was killed in Sanford, about 20 miles north of Orlando.
Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him. He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.
When asked to explain what he meant when he told a police dispatcher he was following Martin, the neighborhood watch volunteer said he was trying to keep an eye on Martin to tell police. He said he was not following Martin but attempting to get a more precise address for the authorities.
Whether Zimmerman was the aggressor plays a major role in his self-defense claim. He said he wanted to see where the teen went so he could tell police where to go.
"I hadn't given them a correct address. I was going to give them the actual address," he said.
Zimmerman said after he got out of his car, Martin was next to him. Zimmerman says he looked down, then looked up and Martin punched him and broke his nose. Then, he said, Martin straddled him and started slamming his head onto a concrete sidewalk.
"He started bashing my head into the concrete sidewalk. I was disoriented," Zimmerman said, adding that it was at that point he began to fear for his life — another key element in his self-defense claim.
He says as the two were struggling, Martin said "you're going to die tonight."
Zimmerman also said racial profiling had nothing to do with the confrontation.
"I'm not a racist and I'm not a murderer," he said.
(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
