[Update below the post: witness claims TRAYVON attacked Zimmerman]
A 17 year-old kid, Trayvon Martin is dead. The shooter, George Zimmerman, who claimed to have shot Treyvon in self-defense and therefore was not arrested. A Police Chief, Bill Lee that has become mired in controversy over his handling of the investigation, who has now stepped aside as has the local prosecutor, Norman Wolfinger.
ABC News' Nation provides a timeline of these tragic events.
Idiot and Stupidity Alert:
As if tensions are not high enough, then we have a pundit, Geraldo Rivera, inserting himself into the chaos with seriously stupid comments about Teryvon's wearing a "hoodie" is partly responsible for his death.
Enter another idiotic comment by another ignorant soul, this time Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who deliberately stokes the tensions by tweeting "Where there is no justice, there will be no peace. Soon the law of retaliation may very well be applied."
Another bit of stupidity comes from MSNBC's Karen Finney as NewsBusters points out:
After decrying "bigotry and stereotypes tak[ing] over our better judgment," Finney sneeringly insisted that when "Rush Limbaugh calls a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, a magic negro...In the case of Trayvon, those festering stereotypes had lethal consequences."
Read the rest of her idiocy and watch the video over at NewsBusters.
Politicians Weigh In With Statements
Florida Congressman Alen West has issued a statement on the death and subsequent questions in regards to how the investigation was handled, via West's Facebook page;
I have sat back and allowed myself time to assess the current episode revealing itself in Sanford, Florida involving the shooting of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin. First of all, if all that has been reported is accurate, the Sanford Police Chief should be relieved of his duties due to what appears to be a mishandling of this shooting in its early stages. 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. 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. I have signed a letter supporting a DOJ investigation. I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences. This is an outrage.
Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have all made statements, via BuzzFeed:
In a statement, Romney said: "What happened to Trayvon Martin is a tragedy. There needs to be a thorough investigation that reassures the public that justice is carried out with impartiality and integrity.”
Asked by a reporter about the shooting, Santorum went further, condemning local law enforcement for dragging its feet in arresting Martin's shooter.
"It's a horrible case, and it's chilling to hear what happened," Santorum said. "And of course the fact that law enforcement didn't immediately go after and prosecute this case is another chilling example of horrible decisions made by people in this process."
He continued: "I think it's pretty clear the problems we're seeing in this case, and hopefully the state Attorney General and local community is reacting and responding, and hopefully this matter will be an example of what law enforcement has to do in a case like this."
Newt Gingrich commented on the case Thursday night, calling it a tragedy to CNN's Piers Morgan, and defending the controversial gun law that has been spotlighted by the killing.
Barack Obama also has commented, via The Politico:
"When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids," Obama said in the Rose Garden. "I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. And that everybody pull together."
[...SNIP]
"My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said. "All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves."
"Obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through," Obama said. "All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this has happened."
Hot Air provides details on Florida law.
[Update] Witness account shows clearly why people should never rush to judgement or chime in with opinions until all the facts are in.
Headline "Now witness claims TRAYVON attacked Zimmerman"
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