If I were walking down the street in the evening and someone approached me pointing a gun at me, I think I could safely assume that I was being attacked.

And Zimmerman didn't just go against police advice by getting out of his car and accosting Martin, he was going against their orders. They told him to stay in the car and not approach Martin.

Martin was doing nothing illegal when accosted by Zimmerman, and he had every reason to be frightened of him and try to defend himself.

Don Firth