After 44 days of mounting tensions and protests across the country, George Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with second degree murder in the Feb. 26 death of Trayvon Martin.
The 17-year-old unarmed youth was shot to death by Zimmerman - a neighborhood watch guard -- who had been patrolling the modest neighborhood in Sandford, Fla., where Martin was walking. Zimmerman, 28, claims to have shot Martin in self defense, and his attorney says he will plead not guilty.
Upon hearing that Zimmerman had been charged, the youth's mother commented that she'd "still be at home in my room crying."
Special prosecutor Angela Corey confirmed Zimmerman's arrest.
"Today we filed information charging George Zimmerman with murder in the second degree," Corey said during a press conference late Wednesday.
But Corey declined to say where Zimmerman was being held, citing safety precautions. "It is for his safety as well as for everyone else's safety," she said.
When asked about evidence in the case, Corey responded that was not up for discussion as well.
"We don't discuss the evidence in a case, it would be improper to do so," she said. "It was a full investigation, full facts and circumstances that lead us to any decision in any case."
