First Degree Murder Charges for Shooter of Florida Teen

White motorist was arrested and charged with second degree murder and pleaded not guilty

A grand jury has indicted 46-year-old Florida software developer Michael Dunn for first-degree murder on Thursday in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, an unarmed, black high school student after an argument over loud rap music. Dunn, who is white, was arrested the day after the shooting, charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The state attorney’s office later decided to upgrade the charges to first-degree murder. Dunn also faces charges of attempted murder for firing at Davis’ car, which contained three of the teen’s friends. People have drawn parallels between the Davis case and that of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Davis’ father has pledged to fight Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which allows people to defend themselves if they believe someone will hurt them. Dunn said he believed someone in Davis’ SUV pointed a shotgun at him, although police did not recover a weapon on the scene. (Reuters)

[SUBSCRIBE TO LOOP 21 RSS FEED]