'Healing & empowerment': Family fights for change 12 years after Trayvon Martin’s death
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Monday marks 12 years since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford.
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The 17-year-old died Feb. 26, 2012, in a confrontation with George Zimmerman, a then-28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer.
Martin was on the way to visit his father in a gated community in Sanford after going to a nearby store.
The initial police report said Zimmerman called authorities to report a suspicious person who “looks like he’s up to no good.”
Read: Trayvon Martin: How Sanford sparked the global Black Lives Matter movement
Zimmerman then followed Martin and said he was forced to use his gun in self-defense. In a lengthy trial, Zimmerman was found guilty.
The shooting sparked debates nationwide about racial profiling and Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, still fights for change.
Read: Sheriff: 13 arrests made in shooting that killed woman, injured 5 others in Seminole County
According to ABC affiliate WPLG, Fulton and Tracy Martin started a foundation in Martin’s name to help provide emotional and financial support to families who have lost a child as a result of gun violence.
“We want our community to know, we want the world to know, we want our young people to know that they have a right to walk in peace without being followed, chased, pursued, profiled or murdered,” Fulton said.
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