The parents of Trayvon Martin comment on reports that their son was suspended from school for having an empty bag of marijuana.
By msnbc.com news services
Trayvon Martin, the teenager whose shooting death has sparked a national uproar, was suspended from school last month for having a baggie that contained marijuana residue in his book bag, a family spokesman said Monday.
"There was no substance found. There was a baggie that school officials believe may have formerly contained marijuana. There was no arrest or citation from the police," Ryan Julison said.
Martin's mother says authorities are trying to demonize her son by leaking information to the news media that marijuana was the reason for his suspension from school. Sanford police told the Associated Press it's possible the information was leaked to the media, but it was not authorized.
Toxicology test results were still pending on the body of Martin, 17, who was gunned down Feb. 26 inside a gated community in the central Florida city of Sanford by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin was visiting his father in Sanford while he was suspended by Miami-Dade schools. He was unarmed.
Zimmerman has not been charged in Martin's death and claims self-defense.
He told police that Martin knocked him down with a single punch and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times before he shot him, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
Report: Police report details Zimmerman, witness accounts
Martin's killing has ignited racial tensions. Martin was black; Zimmerman's father is white and his mother Hispanic.
Also Monday, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed that Martin does not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by The Associated Press.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
