Defense attorney George West suggested to a jury on Monday that George Zimmerman was justified in killing Trayvon Martin because the teen “armed himself with the concrete sidewalk.”

During his opening statements, West admitted that Zimmerman was armed with a handgun the day that he shot and killed Martin.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever from any of the people, the FBI or FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] interview, that George Zimmerman was trigger happy, that he was reckless,” he remarked. “In fact, most people didn’t even know that he had a gun.”

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“You want a double-action only gun, without an external safety because if you need it — whatever that situation is where you really, really need it, when seconds truly matter, you don’t have time to think about taking the safety off, you don’t have time to think about racking the gun,” he continued. “If you’re going to have it, it should be exactly the way Mr. Zimmerman was carrying.”

West said he had “heard it a thousand times that Trayvon Martin was unarmed.”

“What the evidence will show you is that’s not true,” he insisted. “Trayvon Martin armed himself with the concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman’s head, no different than if he picked up a brick or bashed the head against a wall. That is a deadly weapon.”

“The law is very specific about when you can defend yourself when the other person has a deadly weapon.”

Watch this video from Fox News, broadcast June 24, 2013.

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