Trayvon Martin's Parents "Stunned" By Verdict, May File Civil Suit

"Trayvon was a fun-loving child -- he was our child -- we miss him dearly."

By
Adrian Carrasquillo
by Adrian Carrasquillo

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of slain teen Trayvon Martin, spoke about their reaction to the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.

"I was stunned, I couldn't believe it," Fulton said. "I thought surely that he would be found guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter at the least. I just knew that they would see that this was a teenager just trying to get home. This was no burglar, this was just somebody's son who was trying to get home."

His mother believes Martin was racially profiled.

Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters

"I think it was obvious that it was a black young person they were looking for," Fulton said. "Trayvon simply was not that person. Trayvon was not a burglar. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He simply went to the store and was headed back home. For somebody to look at him and perceive him to be a burglar that is the problem that initiated everything."

She said juror B37, who said Martin played a huge role in his own death, doesn't know her son.

"I don't think she knows Trayvon," she said. "Trayvon is not a confrontational person, so instead of placing the blame on the teenager, we need to place the blame on the responsible adult. There were two people involved, we had an adult that was chasing a kid and we had a kid who I feel was afraid.

The Martin family lawyer said they are investigating all legal options when asked about a possible civil suit.

Benjamin Crump said the question for the Department of Justice is, "Can a private citizen with a gun profile and follow our children home? Because the United States Supreme Court doesn't even allow the police to profile people based on race. This is an issue because have to know what to tell our children.

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