Trayvon Martin Classmates React To News Of Zimmerman Charges
NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – In Northeast Miami Dade, the news of George Zimmerman's arrest brought relief to many who knew Trayvon Martin. For the past month and a half many friends said they waited and prayed for justice.
At Antioch Missionary Baptist Church where Trayvon's family attends services, Pastor G. Vincent Lewis said of the arrest, "I wish it had happened sooner, but just because justice has been delayed does not necessarily mean justice is being denied. All we want is a fair trial. Without an arrest beginning that process, we can't have that."
Ashley Burch and Aiyanna Fleming, who consider themselves Trayvon Martin's best friends said they finally feel some peace of mind.
"My fear was that they weren't going to arrest him, they were going to brush it under the rug," said Fleming.
Burch added, "It won't bring Trayvon back, but it's justice."
The death of Trayvon Martin resonated with students across South Florida including at the school Trayvon most recently attended, Michael Krop Senior High in Northeast Miami-Dade.
Martin, 17, was a junior at Krop Senior High when he was shot and killed on Feb. 26th in Sanford.
His classmates told CBS4's Maggie Newland that it has been really difficult at the school since his death. There's been a lot of sadness and a lot of anger and now they say they are happy to hear that charges are being filed.
"It's sad, he should be charged, he should be charged because Trayvon didn't have any weapons. He had Skittles and ice tea," said classmate Kareem Graham. "He should've just left him, let him go home to his dad. He'd have been chilling with us this very day, this very day he'd be chilling with us."
Krop Senior High teens were some of the only students who did not take part in massive walk-outs protesting Trayvon's shooting and the handling of the investigation.
That's because Trayvon's mother asked students to stay in school and focus on their education. Out of respect, the students listened to her wishes and showed their support in other ways.
Thousands of students at other schools across Miami-Dade, and even some in Broward, did take part in massive school walk-outs
