Marchers demand probe into Fla. shooting

The parents of an unarmed teenager, shot and killed in Florida last month, joined hundreds of protesters in Manhattan Wednesday night, demanding a federal investigation and the arrest of the neighborhood watch captain who killed him.

Tracy Martin, the father of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, told the crowd, "I just want you to know if Trayvon had been alive, he would be right here on these steps with you guys, rallying for justice."

Sybrina Fulton, the teen's mother, said, "My heart is in pain, but to see the support of you all really makes a difference."

Tracy Martin said he and his son's mother found out about the march after arriving in New York City, where they have done interviews about the case. They contacted the organizers to say they would attend and speak to the crowd.

Trayvon Martin, a Miami high school student, was walking from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26 when the fatal confrontation took place between him and the civilian watch captain, George Zimmerman.

Called "The Million Hoodie March" because of how the teenager was dressed when he was killed, most of the marchers in Manhattan yesterday wore various colored hoodies, and many carried and displayed pictures of Martin.

They gathered at Washington Square Park and marched up Sixth Avenue and down Broadway, all the way down to Canal Street. Many of the demonstrators chanted "We are Trayvon Martin" and "No Justice. No Peace" as they marched.

The case has ignited a furor against the police department of Sanford, an Orlando suburb of 53,500 people, because officers questioned but did not arrest Zimmerman, who police said is white, but whose family said is Hispanic.

Zimmerman called 911 shortly before the shooting to report a suspicious person, and later told police he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him.

Meanwhile yesterday, Sanford city commissioners voted 3-2 "no confidence" in their police chief over the incident.

At a town-hall meeting Tuesday in Sanford, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Nation of Islam urged residents to remain calm but demanded a thorough investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights probe into the shooting.

With Bill Mason and AP