George Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with second degree murder

A law enforcement official announced that the shooter in the Trayvon Martin case will be charged with second-degree murder and is in custody.

The official with knowledge of the case says that the charge against 28-year-old George Zimmerman will be announced at a news conference.  The official says he’s in custody in Florida but wouldn’t say where. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to disclose the information.

An arrest had been delayed because of Florida’s so-called stand your ground law, which gives people wide latitude to claim self-defence in a killing and other altercations.

The lack of an arrest in the 17-year-old’s death had sparked outrage and rallies for justice in the Orlando suburb and across the country.

Earlier this week legal experts offered this advice to Zimmerman: Shut up.

“My advice to the client would be, ‘Save it for the trial. It can’t help you.'” said Roy Kahn, a Miami defence attorney, as law enforcement officials said Zimmerman’s arrest was imminent.

The 28-year-old Sanford man’s recent behaviour has alarmed those close to him, especially his ex-lawyers who held a raucous news conference Tuesday and said they weren’t representing him. He has called special prosecutor Angela Corey on his own, had an off-the-record chat with a Fox News Channel host and put up a website asking supporters for money.