In this July 9, 2013, file photo, George Zimmerman leaves the courtroom for a lunch break his trial in Seminole Circuit Court, in Sanford, Fla. Police officers in Florida say Zimmerman has been involved in a shooting, Monday, May 11, 2015. Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a case that sparked protests and national debate about race relations. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)
LAKE MARY, Fla. (AP) — The man who called 911 to report he was involved in a shooting with George Zimmerman appears to be the same person involved in a road rage incident with the former neighborhood watch volunteer last year.
Lake Mary Police Officer Bianca Gillett said during a news conference Monday that Matthew Apperson called 911 to report theshooting. She said Zimmerman was not the shooter and investigators hadn’t determined yet if any charges will be filed. Both Zimmerman and Apperson have yet to be interviewed formally by investigators, she said.
“We have not determined how or why the incident or altercation began,” Gillett said.
A woman who answered the phone at the disability-benefits business where Apperson works asked a reporter never to call again. Nobody answered the door at his Winter Springs condominium, where there is a “for sale” out front and a lock box on the door.
Last September, Apperson said Zimmerman threatened to kill him, asking “Do you know who I am?” during a confrontation in their vehicles. Apperson decided not to pursue charges, and police officers were unable to move forward without a car tag identified or witnesses.
“I explained to Matthew that without the tag, witnesses, and/or clear video identifying the driver as George Zimmerman, it might be difficult to prove the alleged suspect was in fact Zimmerman,” the Lake Mary police officer wrote in a report last September.
On Monday, a bullet missed Zimmerman’s head, but he wasn’t seriously hurt, his attorney said.
A truck is towed at the scene of a shooting involving George Zimmerman, Monday, May 11, 2015, near Trailhead Park in Lake Mary, Fla. The man who called 911 to report he was involved in the shooting appears to be Matthew Apperson, the same person allegedly involved in a road rage incident Zimmerman last year. (Jeff Weiner/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
In the latest of a string of incidents since he was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman was sprayed with glass from his vehicle’s windshield and other debris in the Orlando suburb of Lake Mary, said the attorney, Don West.
“His injuries would be considered minor,” West said. “The bullet missed his head. I think it broke a window and lodged in his vehicle.”
Zimmerman was released from a hospital.
West said before the news conference that Zimmerman thought he knew who was responsible for the shooting and is cooperating with authorities.
Zimmerman was acquitted in the 2013 killing of Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in a case that sparked protests and national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later announced it was not bringing a civil rights case against Zimmerman.
Since then, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law, including:
— He was charged with aggravated assault after being accused of throwing a wine bottle at an ex-girlfriend, Brittany Brunelle. The case was dropped in January after she recanted her story and refused to cooperate.
— Following another domestic confrontation, he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief after his then-girlfriend said he pointed a gun at her face during an argument, smashed her coffee table and pushed her out of the house they shared. Samantha Scheibe decided not to cooperate with detectives, and prosecutors didn’t pursue the case.
— Zimmerman was accused by his estranged wife of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher her husband had a gun, though she later said he was unarmed. No charges were filed because of a lack of evidence. The dispute occurred days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers.
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Schneider reported from Orlando. Curt Anderson contributed from Miami.