Zimmerman denounces Trayvon Martin's family; gun auction ends
NEW YORK -- The former neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed 17-year-old in 2012 criticized the boy's parents in an interview with The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
George Zimmerman denounced Trayvon Martin's parents in the interview, saying "They didn't raise their son right."
Martin was walking down a Sanford, Florida, street on the night of Feb. 26, 2012, when Zimmerman began following him, leading to a confrontation. Zimmerman suffered minor injuries to his head and nose. Martin died after being shot in the chest.
A jury acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder and of manslaughter in July 2013. The 32-year-old indicated in the interview that he blames Martin for the incident.
"He attacked a complete stranger and attempted to kill him," said Zimmerman, who has been attempting to auction off the weapon he used to shoot Martin. Zimmerman also accused Martin's parents of capitalizing on their son's death in the interview, and said the teen's father "couldn't have cared less about their son."
"He treated him like a dog without a leash," Zimmerman said.
Kat Tynes, a spokesperson for the Trayvon Martin Foundation, questioned the timing of Zimmerman's auction and interview, just days before the foundation -- and Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton -- hosts an annual conference. The gathering, called Circle of Mothers, is focused on "women who have experienced the loss of a child, especially due to gun violence."
"In terms of Sybrina's feedback, of course she didn't have anything to say about it. It gets to the point where you have to pick and choose what you're trying to respond to," Tynes told Crimesider.
The online auction for Zimmerman's gun came to a close Wednesday, and a statement released by the website where it was posted indicated the Zimmerman is vetting potential buyers. The starting bid for the gun was $100,000 and the auction site indicated several offers were made, but Tynes also questioned the legitimacy of that claim.
"I don't believe that. It may very well be that amount is trumped up, if you will," Tynes said.