George Zimmerman Wounded in Road Rage Shooting

11 May, 2015

George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder charges in the 2012 shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Florida, suffered a minor wound after being shot at in his vehicle on Monday, police said.

Zimmerman did not fire a gun in the Monday incident, his latest brush with law enforcement since his 2013 trial, according to police.

No charges were immediately filed in the shooting, which took place on a roadway in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.

The other man involved was Matthew Apperson, police said. Apperson previously accused Zimmerman of threatening to kill him during a September 2014 roadside dispute, but declined to press charges.

Zimmerman, 31, was a neighborhood watch volunteer when he shot Trayvon Martin, claiming it was in self-defense. The incident prompted civil rights rallies and drew international attention to Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law.

While Zimmerman no longer lives in central Florida, he unexpectedly ran into Apperson on Monday while visiting for Mother’s Day, his attorney, Don West, told Reuters.

Zimmerman recognized Apperson, who was flashing his lights, honking and shouting insults, West said.

As Zimmerman attempted to make a U-turn to leave, Apperson pulled up alongside his vehicle and “pulled out a gun and shot it through the passenger window,” West said.

Zimmerman was not injured by the bullet but suffered minor wounds from flying glass and debris, West said. He was treated and released from a hospital.

Apperson called authorities to report the incident about the same time that Zimmerman flagged them down around 1 p.m., police said.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately known, police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said at a news conference.

Earlier this year federal prosecutors decided not to press civil rights charges against Zimmerman in the Martin case.

Since being acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in that shooting, Zimmerman has drawn attention for his repeated encounters with law enforcement.

He was arrested in January in connection with a domestic dispute. He was accused of throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend but prosecutors dropped the charges after she recanted.

He was arrested in November 2013 after allegedly pointing a gun at a different girlfriend during an argument. Those charges were later dropped after the woman withdrew her complaint.

Zimmerman also has drawn the attention of authorities over accusations that he had threatened his then-estranged wife.

Reuters 

Image REUTERS/JOE BURBANK

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