George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old former altar boy whose shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, has caused a national uproar, has withdrawn into seclusion. His lawyer says he's afraid for his life amid numerous death threats.
As Florida and federal investigators dig into the Feb. 26 shooting and the Sanford Police Department's decision to not charge Zimmerman with a crime, attempts to understand the shooting have focused on the extent to which Zimmerman's past experiences colored his decisions in the moments before Trayvon died.
Critics have called Zimmerman a racist vigilante who initiated a conflict with Trayvon largely because of a profile: A black man wearing a hoodie walking through a gated neighborhood. If the FBI finds evidence of this, Zimmerman could be charged with a federal hate crime.
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