AG calls Martin killing an 'unnecessary shooting'

WASHINGTON (AP):

Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday called the killing of Trayvon Martin a "tragic, unnecessary shooting" and said the Justice Department will follow "the facts and the law" as it reviews evidence to see whether federal criminal charges are warranted.

In his first comments since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Martin case, the attorney general said the 17-year-old's death provides an opportunity for the nation to speak honestly about complicated and emotionally charged issues.

He said the nation must not forgo an opportunity toward better understanding of one another.

On Sunday, the Justice Department said it is reviewing evidence in the case to determine whether criminal civil rights charges would be brought.

The department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year, but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.

Holder said, "We are ... mindful of the pain felt by our nation surrounding the tragic, unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, last year." The attorney general's characterisation of the killing drew strong applause from the audience at the 51st national convention of the Delta Sigma Theta, the nation's largest African-American sorority.

OPPURTUNITY OUT OF TRAGEDY

"Independent of the legal determination that will be made, I believe that this tragedy provides yet another opportunity for our nation to speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally charged issues that this case has raised," Holder said.

"We must not, as we have too often in the past, let this opportunity pass," he added.