Parents of Dead Fla. Teen to Appear at NYC March
The father of a black teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch captain in Florida said he was “honored” by a march being planned for New York City in support of his son.
“I feel very honored that New York would do a rally in my son’s honor,” Tracy Martin told The Associated Press on Wednesday, hours before what was being called the Million Hoodie March was supposed to take place.
“It means a lot to me and my family knowing that people across the country, across the world, are coming together to get justice for Trayvon.”
Martin’s son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was killed Feb. 26, in Sanford, Fla. He was returning to a gated community in the city after buying candy at a convenience store. He was unarmed and wearing a hooded sweat shirt at the time.
The shooter, George Zimmerman, has not been charged in the shooting and has said he shot the teen in self-defense after Martin attacked him. Police said Zimmerman is white; his family says he is Hispanic.
The case has ignited a furor against the police department of the Orlando suburb of 53,500 people, prompting rallies and a protest in Gov. Rick Scott’s office Tuesday. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said it is sending its community relations service this week to Sanford to “address tension in the community.”