Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/REUTERS
George Zimmerman has been shot, according to Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell, suffering a gunshot wound in an incident involving two men. Zimmerman was acquitted for the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
A suspect who is in custody after the shooting had crossed paths with Zimmerman before, The Daily Beast has learned.
Matthew Apperson, 36, is currently being questioned by Lake Mary Police detectives over the shooting, authorities confirmed. Zimmerman and Apperson, a resident of Winter Springs, Florida, were involved in a similar “road rage” incident last September, Deputy Police Chief Colin Morgan told The Daily Beast in a phone interview.
“[The suspect] was involved in another incident with George Zimmerman a while back,” said Morgan. “That was another road rage incident some time ago."
A weapon was flashed in the previous dustup between Zimmeman and the other man, Morgan said.
“A gun was displayed, but no shooting took place. No one got shot in that incident,” Morgan said.
In Monday’s attack, which took place around 1 p.m., Zimmerman suffered a bullet wound to the face, but Dept. Chief Morgan said “it doesn’t appear to be a mortal wound.”
“It looks like he’s going to survive it,” he said.