Trial for man accused of shooting at George Zimmerman

Matthew Apperson fired shot at Zimmerman in road rage incident, officials say

SANFORD, Fla. – Testimony continued Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of trying to shoot and kill former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in a road-rage incident in Seminole County.

Zimmerman took the stand for a second day in Matthew Apperson's attempted second-degree murder trial. 

Apperson's attorney questioned Zimmerman about the incident and asked him if he associated Apperson, who is white, with Black Lives Matter. Zimmerman said he considers the movement terrorism.

After more questions about Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman left the stand. He's scheduled to return on Thursday.

Authorities say Apperson shot at at Zimmerman during a traffic incident last year.

Zimmerman told officers that he had been driving in Lake Mary when Apperson got behind his truck, yelled and fired a gun at his car, leaving a bullet hole in a window.

"A car came up behind me quickly, and honked its horn and flashed its high beams," Zimmerman testified on Tuesday.

Zimmerman said that the gun was pointed directly at his face and that he saw blood on his eyelashes and figured he had been hit, but he was struck by shattered glass, not a bullet.

A police report said that Apperson had a fixation on Zimmerman. Months before the shooting, Zimmerman and Apperson were involved in another road rage incident in which Apperson claims Zimmerman threatened to kill him.

Apperson's attorney said that is why his client felt the need to defend himself during the second incident.

Zimmerman was acquitted three years ago in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old. The case sparked protests and a national debate about race relations.

Apperson faces a minimum mandatory 20-year sentence if convicted on attempted second-degree murder charges.


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