Killing of Trayvon Martin

eilionoirreid — 2024-06-06 18:40:39 UTC

On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, an African American teenager, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman as he was walking home after going to a store. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old insurance fraud investigator who was captain of the neighborhood patrol at the Retreat at Twin Lakes. Martin was dead when officers arrived. Despite a bloody nose and cuts on the back of his head, Zimmerman was released after questioning. There were no witnesses at the shooting. They did not arrest Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense. As a result of the case, protests broke out nationwide, and self-defense laws and racial profiling became a topic of discussion. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were dropped. Filmmakers Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst thought it was important to revisit Martin's death. The result is a six-episode series, Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story. The series tells how those few words turned George Zimmerman from a stalker-y adult into a victim. Rumors began that Trayvon had been skipping school, getting suspended for writing words on lockers and doing drugs. "The organization remains a strong supporter of Stand Your Ground laws and said in 2012 that such legislation enables "lawful people to defend themselves, and deters would-be murderers, rapists and robbers." (Karen Grigsby Bates) Later, his parents created the Trayvon Martin Foundation, which is dedicated to helping parents and families that have lost children to gun violence. They speak out frequently against Stand Your Ground laws.

Sandy Hook Shooting

eilionoirreid — 2024-06-07 01:43:24 UTC

On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 kids and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life and killing his mother. Adam Lanza would also use the AR-15, a civilian semiautomatic version of the military M16 assault rifle that his mother purchased. Lauren Rousseau and 14 students were killed when Lanza entered her classroom. After that, he went to the closet where Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher, had hidden her students. Trying to distract Lanza, she told him her class was in the auditorium on the other side of the school. Lanza killed Soto, as well as six students who tried to escape. A second Sandy Hook staff member, behavioral therapist Rachel D'Avino, and special education aide Anne Marie Murphy were killed in the shooting. In less than five minutes, Lanza fired 154 rounds, killing 26 people. Immediately after a number of shots fired, the officers found Lanza near the door to Soto's classroom, dead after he had shot himself in the head.

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Killing of Trayvon Martin

Sandy Hook Shooting