George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s shooter, broke his silence in an interview with FOX News Wednesday night, saying the murder “was all God’s plan.” Zimmerman, accompanied by his lawyer, Mark O’Mara, spoke to talk-show host Sean Hannity where he apologized to Martin’s parents and said he didn’t regret anything.
“I feel that it was all God’s plan, and for me to second guess it or judge it,” he said, trailing off.
Trayvon Martin’s father quickly responded to his remarks saying, “We must worship a different God because there is no way that my God would have wanted George Zimmerman to kill my teenage son.”
Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, agreed. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. God did not have a plan for Trayvon to die and for George Zimmerman to shoot Trayvon for no reason,” she said in an interview with CNN.
“I am sorry they buried their child,” Zimmerman said. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like, and I pray for them daily… I just think it’s a tragic situation and I hope it’s the most difficult thing I’ll ever go through in my life.”
Although Zimmerman did issue an apology, he didn’t appear remorseful. Hannity asked if Zimmerman regretted having a gun, he said no. Hannity asked if he regretted getting out of the car to follow Martin that night, he said no. And when asked if he would do anything differently, in retrospect, now that time has passed, Zimmerman responded again with, “No sir.”
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Stanford, Florida in February. He claimed Martin threatened his life and at that point, Zimmerman said, he realized he didn’t have anymore time. “I do wish there was something, anything, I could have done that wouldn’t have put me in the position where I had to take his life,” he said.
A press release issued before the interview said that “Zimmerman will open up about what happened the night of Trayvon Martin’s death and his experience in the aftermath of the fatal shooting,” according to the Huffington Post.
Zimmerman’s camp choose to do their first television interview with FOX News, a network the 28-year-old has had a relationship with. In April, Hannity went on record defending Zimmerman after an off-the-record interview with the gunman. “There’s been this rush to judgment by so many,” Hannity said. “If this was some type of racially motivated killing, and George Zimmerman does not seem to fit the profile as someone who mentored minority children.”
Zimmerman pled not guilty to second degree murder charges in May and was released on bail. Since that time he’s returned to jail and was released again on $1M bail. Zimmerman is currently staying at a safe house awaiting trial.
