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George Zimmerman wounded in Florida shooting, police say

Posted at 2:33 PM, May 11, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-11 15:57:46-04

(CNN) —  George Zimmerman — acquitted by a Florida jury in the death of Trayvon Martin — was involved in a shooting in Lake Mary, Florida, on Monday, police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said.

Zimmerman apparently suffered a minor gunshot wound, CNN affiliate WESH-TV reported, citing the police chief.

The affiliate spoke with one witness, Ricardo Berrare, who also said Zimmerman’s injuries didn’t look serious.

“He walked normally into the ambulance, so he wasn’t being helped or nothing,” Berrare told WESH.

The shooting is under investigation, but it appeared to be some type of road rage incident, Gillett told CNN.

Police said there were no fatalities in the shooting and said the department would not release additional information until a briefing planned for Monday afternoon.

‘I shot George Zimmerman, call 911’

An employee at a nearby business, Kenneth Cornell, said he was exiting his car after lunch when a man drove up and started yelling about the shooting.

The man shouted to Cornell: “I shot George Zimmerman, call 911. I don’t have a phone.”

Cornell said the man didn’t know whether Zimmerman was hurt. He called 911.

According to Cornell, the man told him that he and Zimmerman have had three disputes. This time, Zimmerman waved a gun and the man shot at him, according to Cornell.

Police arrived minutes after he called 911, Cornell said.

Police have not verified Cornell’s account to CNN.

History of run-ins with the law

It is the latest headline-grabbing incident for Zimmerman since his acquittal in July 2013 on a murder charge in the death of Martin, a 17-year-old African-American.

Zimmerman fatally shot Martin on February 26, 2012.

On that day, Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida, called 911 to report “a suspicious person” in the neighborhood.

The dispatcher asked him if he was following the person and Zimmerman replied that he was “trying to find out where he went.”

He ignored the dispatcher’s advice not to follow the person, and according to later accounts by Zimmerman, Martin jumped toward him and a fight ensued.

Moments later, neighbors report hearing gunfire.

Zimmerman was pulled over for speeding in northern Texas in July 2013, a few weeks after he was acquitted of Martin’s death.

He apparently had a firearm in the glove compartment of a vehicle, prompting an officer to tell him, “Don’t play with your firearm, OK?”

He was sent on his way with a warning.

In November of that year, police took him into custody at his then-girlfriend’s home in Apopka, Florida, after an apparent fight.

He was arrested on aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of domestic violence battery and criminal mischief, but the woman later asked that the charges be dropped and Zimmerman was not prosecuted.

In September 2014, police in Lake Mary said a man claimed Zimmerman threatened to kill him during a road rage incident. He wasn’t arrested in that incident.

Then, in January, he was arrested on another domestic violence complaint after he allegedly threw a wine bottle at a girlfriend, his lawyer Don West told reporters at the time. She later recanted and charges were never filed, CNN affiliate WESH reported.