WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Obama, addressing the shooting of an unarmed Florida high school student, made a personal appeal for further investigation into an incident he described as a “tragedy.”
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Obama said from the Rose Garden, referring to 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a neighborhood watch guard last month. “When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids.”
The case has stirred
immense passions nationwide for its racial element: Martin, who was black, was killed by
George Zimmerman, 28, a Hispanic neighbor, who has since claimed self-defense. Zimmerman has not been charged in the shooting.
Obama had refrained from commenting on the case, leaving it to Attorney General Eric Holder to navigate the details, and on Friday, Obama chose his words carefully. He did not declare the shooter guilty, and said it is “imperative that we investigate every aspect of this.”
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| Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) |
EXCERPT:
In a lengthy, pointed discourse posted Thursday night on
his Facebook page, Allen said, “This is an outrage.” Noting that he had taken some time to “assess the current episode,” West wrote: “The US Navy SEALS identified Osama Bin Laden within hours, while this young man laid on a morgue slab for three days. The shooter, Mr Zimmerman, should have been held in custody and certainly should not be walking free, still having a concealed weapons carry permit. From my reading, it seems this young man was pursued and there was no probable cause to engage him, certainly not pursue and shoot him….against the direction of the 911 responder.”
The congressman added: “Let’s all be appalled at this instance not because of race, but because a young American man has lost his life, seemingly, for no reason.”
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Students from Miami-area schools walk out in protest of Trayvon Martin shooting
MIAMI, Florida -- Miami Central high school students walk out in protest of the Trayvon Martin killing. Walkouts continued Friday morning at several South Florida high schools Friday in protest of the recent killing of Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin.
Students joined national appeals for the arrest of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood crime captain who is accused of shooting Martin in Sanford.
Schools participating in the walkouts included Miami Northwestern, Central, Dr. Michael Krop, Norland, Carol City, William H. Turner Technical Arts and Edison high schools. At Norland Senior High, hundreds of students left the school about 9 a.m. They coordinated the walkout through text messages and received support from their principal, Luis Solano.
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Dwyane Wade offers 'hoodie' support in Trayvon Martin case
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — On the day President Obama commented for the first time on the fatal shooting of unarmed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade also injected himself into the conversation.
Martin, 17, was shot nearly a month ago after a confrontation in a gated community with neighborhood-watch captain George Zimmerman, with the youth's body discovered Feb. 26. Zimmerman who has claimed he shot Martin in self-defense, has not been charged.
Martin was wearing a "hoodie" hooded sweatshirt when he was shot, which has added to the debate about racial profiling.
To that end, Wade on Friday posted to his Facebook page a picture of himself wearing a hoodie. On his Twitter accounted, he simply posted, "#hoodies #stereotype #trayvonmartin" with a link to the photograph of himself wearing a hoodie.
Later, LeBron James posted a picture on his Twitter account of the entire Heat team in hooded sweatshirts, apparently taken at the team hotel upon the return from practice, with the Twitter post, "#WeAreTrayvonMartin #Hoodies #Stereotyped #WeWantJustice."
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