Unarmed black teenager 'shot dead by Neighborhood Watch' as he went to buy candy for his brother in gated community

Shot dead: Trayvon Martin was killed as he walked home from a shop at a Florida gated community where his father lives

The family of an unarmed black boy shot dead by a Neighourhood Watch man in a gated community are demanding the release of 911 tapes that may shed light on the killing.

Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was gunned down just yards from his father's home as he made his way back from a shop in the Orlando suburb of Sanford, Florida.

Neighbourhood Watch captain George Zimmerman, 28, has admitted shooting the youngster, but claims it was in self-defence.

As yet, he has not been arrested or charged in connection with the killing.

Trayvon who lived in Miami with his mother, had been visiting his father and his partner in a gated community called The Retreat at Twin Lakes, 20 miles north of Orlando.

During halftime of an NBA All-Star Game, the high school junior had gone to a nearby shop to buy some Skittles for his younger brother.

Trayvon was returning home when he was spotted by Zimmerman, a college student and member of the local Neighbourhood Watch, who was armed with a 9mm handgun.

According to a police report released yesterday, Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighbourhood in his car, had initially called police to report 'suspicious person in the area'.

Zimmerman was told to keep his distance, however, before officers could reach the scene, there was some kind of confrontation between him and the teenager.

Minutes later, 911 dispatchers received several calls of shots being fired in the neighbourhood. By the time police arrived Trayvon lay face down on a patch of grass by the road, dead from a single gunshot wound to his chest.

Trayvon's family have issued repeated calls for Zimmerman's arrest and yesterday demanded that the 911 tapes relating to the case are released.

Tracy Martin, Trayvan's father, told the Huffington post yesterday he wants to know what happened between his son and Zimmerman in the minutes between the call and the shooting.

'I'm looking for justice for my family,' he said. 'I want answers but I don't have any to give — not for his mother, his brothers or sisters.

'We don't have nothing, but we want answers.'

Zimmerman told police that he had shot the youngster and officers found a semi-automatic handgun on him, for which he held a permit.

The police report said that Zimmerman's back was wet and he was covered in grass as if he had been on the ground.

He was bleeding from his nose and the back of the head, the report said.

A police officer said he overheard Zimmerman say, 'I was yelling for someone to help me but no one would help me' while he was being treated by paramedics.

Zimmerman has been interviewed three times and is cooperating. He is claiming self-defence, even though he was following Trayvon, said Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee.

'We want answers': Trayvon pictured as a toddler: His family are desperate to see the man who shot him placed under arrest

'There is some physical evidence and some testimony that would corroborate some of that story,' Mr Lee told the Associated Press.

He added that the 911 tapes have not been released because they have critical information and detectives don't want them to influence the testimony of prospective witnesses.

A phone number listed for Zimmerman has been disconnected, and his current whereabouts are not known, the Huffington Post reported.

Mr Martin said yesterday that family members were upset that no arrest had been made.

He described the neighborhood as mixed race but his attorneys said they believed Trayvon Martin was being profiled at the time of the encounter because he was a young black man. Zimmerman is white.

The attorneys also questioned why a neighbourhood watch leader would carry a gun.

'He was stereotyped for some reason,' attorney Ben Crump said of the victim. 'Why was Trayvon suspicious? There are hundreds of children in that community.'

The police chief said residents upset by the lack of an arrest so far should wait until the investigation is completed, as soon as next week.

The State Attorney's Office will then decide whether to present it to a grand jury.

'I understand the emotions and the response from the community ... based on the limited information they have,' Mr Lee said.

'We just hope they would allow us the time to conduct a thorough and fair investigation.'

Exclusive: The entrance to the gated community where Martin was shot

Scene: Police stand by the grass verge in the gated community where Martin was killed

Mr Crump on Wednesday told Reuters that the family was concerned that police would treat the shooting as self-defence, and that police have ignored the family's request for a copy of the original 911 call, which they think will shed light on the incidents.



'If the 911 protocol across the country held to form here, they told him not to get involved. He disobeyed that order,' said Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the family.



'He didn't have to get out of his car,' said Mr Crump. 'If he never gets out of his car, there is no reason for self-defense. Trayvon only has Skittles. He has the gun.'



Since Trayvon, a high school junior who wanted to be a pilot, was black and Zimmerman is white, Mr Crump said race was 'the 600lb elephant in the room.'

