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Shooting at George Zimmerman Illegal, Florida Man Learns

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on October 26, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

George Zimmerman, the garbage human infamously acquitted in the homicide of Trayvon Martin, became the victim of a shooting himself last year, in an apparent road rage incident. The man who shot at Zimmerman, Matthew Apperson, was convicted of attempted second-degree murder last month, and last week was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The irony is that Zimmerman himself was charged with second-degree murder in Martin's death, and was perhaps fortunate his victim wasn't around to testify at his trial.

Road Rage

For his part, Zimmerman testified that Apperson was following him in May 2015, flashing his lights and honking his horn. Apperson then pulled up alongside Zimmerman's car and opened fire, bullet shattering his window and narrowly missing its intended victim. Apperson disputed that account, saying it was Zimmerman who threatened him, and he was acting in self-defense.

"Mr. Apperson pulled that trigger and didn't care. In fact, he joyfully bragged about killing me and said, 'I got him. I shot George Zimmerman,'" Zimmerman told the jury during sentencing. "He thought he had killed me, and he was happy about it." Zimmerman thanked jurors for convicting Apperson, adding, he "showed absolutely no care for human life."

Outrage

It's not hard to see why someone might have wanted to take a shot at Zimmerman. Aside from the Martin shooting, Zimmerman was charged with resisting arrest and battering a police officer, accused of domestic violence by an ex-fiancé, accused of molesting his cousin, pulled over speeding through Texas with a firearm, accused of domestic violence by his then wife, charged with aggravated assault for pointing a shotgun at his then girlfriend, and arrested and charged with aggravated assault for throwing a bottle at his then girlfriend. He has had multiple restraining orders issued against him, and had a defamation suit he filed against NBC thrown out.

His latest brush with the law may have others believing that justice takes many forms.

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